The region: infrastructure, administration, utilities, page 3

Bulgaria Air will keep flying the Burgas-Sofia route three times a week in winter, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, from 25 October 2026 with an Airbus A220-100. From 28 May 2027, easyJet adds a direct connection to Bristol, on Mondays and Fridays. Burgas Airport reached its millionth passenger of 2026 earlier than in the previous year, and Burgas and Varna combined counted over three million passengers since the start of the year.

Kamchiya reservoir currently holds 201.594 million cubic metres, over 86 per cent of its volume. It supplies drinking water to Varna, Burgas and dozens of other settlements along the Black Sea coast. Yasna Polyana, which serves the southern shore, stands at 74.2 per cent. A year ago, after a long dry spell, both held about half; following the spring rainfall they briefly overflowed in March.

Nessebar municipality has installed free WiFi in the pedestrian zone of the old town. The transmitters sit on street lamps, reach more than 100 metres and carry up to 500 simultaneous users per access point. The network is free for residents and visitors alike, and a municipal welcome page appears on connecting. The scheme was carried out together with A1 and A1 Towers.

From 25 to 27 September more than 100 specialists from across the country meet at the International Congress Centre at Morska Gara in Burgas. The programme holds over 20 lectures, symposia, discussions and practical training sessions, among them imaging techniques. The meeting is deliberately cross-disciplinary, bringing together rheumatology, dermatology, orthopaedics and laboratory medicine. It is organised by the Black Sea Rheumatology Association, the rheumatology clinic of Burgas University Hospital and Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov State University.

The Burgas branch of the National Art Academy opened its ninth academic year on 23 September with 151 students: 121 undergraduates and 30 on master's courses. The branch was founded in 2018 with 38 students. Two master's programmes are new: art glass with stained glass, run jointly with Burgas State University, and protection of underwater cultural heritage, in partnership with the UNESCO Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Sozopol. The ceremony was held at Magaziya 1 in the Burgas port complex.

On 21 September Burgas municipality announced an investment proposal to replace the asbestos cement water main of 100 millimetres diameter in Aleksandrovska Street. The section affected runs from San Stefano Boulevard to Vasil Levski Street and will be built in two stages. The notice is issued under the Environmental Protection Act, and objections go to the regional environmental inspectorate. Aleksandrovska is the city's central shopping street.

For 6 a.m. on 23 September 2026 the border police report extremely heavy traffic at the Kapitan Andreevo and Lesovo crossings, above all lorries leaving the country. Malko Tarnovo does not appear in the report and is therefore running normally. For the southern coast that is the shorter route: some 240 kilometres from Burgas, about four hours by car on the scale of the usual route planners. Those not driving themselves can take a scheduled coach from the South bus station in Burgas or fly with a change.

The Burgas branch of the Forestry University opened its first academic year at 11 a.m. on 23 September 2026. Fourteen students are enrolled, nine in landscape architecture and five in forestry; both programmes are accredited. The branch is housed in Tria Space in the Central Park complex. Its creation was approved in August 2026.

On 21 September 2026 the Burgas municipal council adopted the 2026 budget with a framework of 356.6 million euro. It contains 1.5 million euro for preparing the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, with further funds foreseen for next year covering logistics, security and the cultural programme. The same session took up the annual report on 2025 budget execution and the cash statement for the first half of 2026. Works planned include resurfacing Maria Luisa Boulevard.

At its 44th regular session on 21 September 2026 the Ruen municipal council unanimously adopted a 2026 budget of 26.36 million euro, around 2.88 million more than in 2025. State-delegated tasks account for more than 17.45 million euro. The capital programme comes to 2.2 million euro and goes into road repairs, school buildings, care facilities and municipal premises. The municipality counts 39 settlements, among which, in the words of mayor Ahmed Mehmed, the money is spread without distinction.

Pomorie municipality will present its staged plan for the municipal hospital at 5.30 p.m. on 24 September 2026 in the town art gallery. The hospital is to remain in municipal hands; the plan foresees expanding imaging diagnostics and the operating theatre, adding services step by step and bringing in a strategic partner with investment, equipment and specialist staff. The stated aim is that older residents, the chronically ill and visitors are treated locally instead of travelling to other towns. Mayor Ivan Alexiev will present the plan himself.

Burgas State University “Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov” opened its 64th academic year on 21 September 2026. Around 900 first-year entrants are enrolled on bachelor's and professional bachelor's programmes, alongside a new master's intake. Teaching covers 19 professional fields across science, engineering, health, economics and social studies, and the institution holds research university status. The ceremony took place in the building of the Medical Faculty.

Since 21 September 2026 the stretch of road III-9009 between Novo Panicharevo and Yasna Polyana, just under six kilometres long, has been closed to all vehicles. The diversion runs from Novo Panicharevo along road I-9 to the Kraymorie junction, then on the II-99 to the Primorsko junction and the II-992 to Yasna Polyana, and correspondingly in the opposite direction. The Road Infrastructure Agency expects this phase to take about six months; the contract for the full rebuild runs 360 calendar days. The carriageway and drainage are being renewed, with works on three bridge structures and on numerous power and water crossings.

On 17 September 2026 a citizens' committee in Sveti Vlas wrote to the departments for regional development, environment and water, finance and tourism, and to the Burgas district administration. It asks for a new wastewater treatment plant and for an action plan with firm dates by 1 November 2026. The trigger was the closure of Iztok beach on 12 August 2026 by the regional health inspectorate after a failure at the Elenite plant had contaminated the sea. A human chain is announced for 18 September from 9 a.m. on the Burgas to Varna road at the Kosharitsa checkpoint, so traffic there may be held up.

Sozopol municipal council adopted the 2026 budget on 17 September at its 33rd session. It amounts to 23.4 million euros, about ten per cent above last year. Delegated state tasks account for some 7.5 million euros, the earmarked grant for capital spending stands at a little over 700,000 euros, and more than 609,000 euros are carried over from the previous year. The priorities are municipal road infrastructure and connecting the villages to water and sewerage, where so far only Ravadinovo is on the network.

A regional business conference met at Burgas Free University on 17 September 2026, part of the nationwide series run by the Leader.BG platform and under the patronage of mayor Dimitar Nikolov. Investment, digitalisation and the link between companies and higher education were at the centre. The second phase of the Burgas industrial and logistics park, completed in mid August 2026, and the development of the port, the airport and the free trade zone were named as arguments for the location. Rector Milen Baltov announced that students will in future spend whole semesters inside companies.

The Transport and Tourism campaign was launched at Sofia Central Station on 17 September 2026. Newly fitted bistro cars now run on the Sofia to Burgas line and on the narrow gauge railway from Septemvri to Dobrinishte, carrying travel information and board games. Advance ticket sales are being extended, starting with first class. A national tourism portal with online sales of tickets and museum entries is due by the end of the year. The Burgas connection is being prepared for higher demand in May 2027, when the Eurovision Song Contest takes place in the city.

On Wednesday 23 September 2026 the first active lane of the Trakia motorway at kilometre 172 near Chirpan in the direction of Burgas will be closed from 10.00 until the replacement of toll cameras is finished. Traffic will use the remaining lanes. On the same day there will be short lane closures on road I-5 in the Stara Zagora district: at kilometre 199 near Kazanlak from 10.30 to 11.00, at kilometre 212 near Yagoda from 11.30 to 12.00, at kilometre 191 near Kran from 12.00 to 12.30 and at kilometre 182 near Shipka from 13.00 to 13.30. Current traffic conditions are available at api.bg and on the telephone number 0700 130 20.

On 17 September 2026 all 16 municipal councillors unanimously adopted the 2026 budget of Kameno municipality: 13,561,668 euro, of which 7,999,463 euro for state delegated activities and 5,562,205 euro from local revenue. The investment programme amounts to 16,964,048 euro, of which 10,142,483 euro from the recovery plan and European Union programmes, 5,581,966 euro from state funds and 293,607 euro from own resources. It provides among other things for a general development plan for the municipality, the renewal of N. Y. Vaptsarov street in Kameno, the replacement of water pipes in Livada and Trastikovo and works at the fortress near Rusokastro. Mayor Zhelyo Vardunski noted that around 90 per cent of the planned activities were already under way or completed on the day of adoption. It is the municipality's first budget drawn up entirely in euro.

Deputy mayor Stanimir Apostolov proposes that the city's municipal trading companies pay 50 per cent of their after tax profit for 2025 into the budget as a dividend. The municipal council decides on 21 September 2026 and payment is due by 30 October 2026. Medical establishments are exempt if they invest an equivalent amount in their core activity, that is in capital expenditure and medical equipment. A separate rule applies to the Burgas oncology centre: it may use half its profit for the instalments of an investment loan for nuclear medicine diagnostics and automated brachytherapy. At the same time uncovered losses from earlier years are to be settled from retained profits and reserves.

Around Independence Day the Road Infrastructure Agency restricts traffic for lorries over 12 tonnes. On Friday 18 September 2026 the restriction applies from 15.00 to 20.00 in the direction leading out of Sofia, and on Tuesday 22 September 2026 from 12.00 to 20.00 in the direction towards Sofia. It covers the Trakia, Hemus and Struma motorways and a section of road I-1 in the Blagoevgrad district. Buses over 12 tonnes in public passenger transport, ADR hazardous goods transports, live animals, perishable food and temperature controlled loads as well as recovery vehicles are exempt. Current traffic conditions are published at bgtoll.bg.

Since 10.30 on 16 September 2026 the section of Emil de Laveleye Street between Georgi Shagunov Street and Doktor Nider Street has been closed to vehicles. The closure runs until 16 December 2026, that is three months. The reason is restoration of the carriageway after the sewer network there was replaced. The section lies in the centre of Burgas. The municipality points to a temporary traffic scheme in the area concerned.

On 15 September 2026 Burgas municipality reported that nearly 40 kilometres of riverbeds, ditches and drainage channels have been cleared. The aim is the carrying capacity of the watercourses, so that heavy rain does not press into built-up areas. Work covered the northern ditch in the Lozovo district, the course of the Marinka in the Chernitsite villa zone, the Otomanliyska from the Strandzha lodge, the Izgrev ditch at the Fifth Kilometre, the drainage channel behind the SOMAT water structure towards Lake Vaya and the Dermen in the Yurtluka villa zone. Manual clearing took place in the villages of Bryastovets, Draganovo, Izvorishte and Mirolyubovo and in the districts of Cherno More, Rudnik, Banevo, Sarafovo and Vetren. This infrastructure work is running to schedule and is to be completed by the end of November 2026.

On 15 September 2026 a newly built school opened in the Kraymorie district of Burgas, a branch of the Aleksandar Georgiev-Kodzhakafaliya primary school. The building has eight classrooms, specialist rooms, a centre for science and technology, a hall, a swimming pool and rooms for the medical service and speech therapy, plus outdoor areas. Eight parallel classes are set up for the 2026/2027 school year. The second construction phase with outdoor facilities in the yard is due by the end of October 2026. The mayor pointed out that the land was kept for the needs of the neighbourhood and not sold for hotel use.

On 14 September 2026 Burgas State University Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov opened its faculty of pharmacy. The first intake comprises 31 students who will train in Burgas for a master's degree in pharmacy. They come from Burgas, Vratsa, Dobrich, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Kyustendil, Smolyan, Sliven, Samokov, Haskovo and the Sofia region among other places. The faculty rounds out the medical profile of the university; the dean is Prof. Dr. Emil Hristov, the rector Prof. Dr. Sotir Sotirov. The aim is to train specialists for healthcare, pharmacies, laboratories and the pharmaceutical economy of the region.

On 4 September 2026 Fraport Twin Star announced that Burgas and Varna airports have reached Level 3 of Airport Carbon Accreditation. At this level the programme of the international airports council ACI requires an airport to cut emissions not only in its own operations but jointly with airlines, ground handlers, authorities and suppliers. The operator lists as measures the construction of photovoltaic parks at both sites, modernisation of infrastructure, energy efficiency and changes to operating procedures. The accreditation is monitored continuously and has to be maintained through further steps.

The municipality of Nesebar reminds parents that attendance in preschool and school education remains compulsory for certain age groups in the 2026/2027 school year. Children born in 2021 fall under compulsory preschool education pursuant to Art. 8(1) of the Preschool and School Education Act, and children born in 2019 under compulsory school education pursuant to Art. 8(2) of the same act. Parents must enrol their child at the relevant educational institution and ensure regular attendance; failure to comply triggers penalties under Art. 347 of that act.

On 18 September 2026 Pomorie municipality opens the redesigned seafront zone in the Sveti Georgi residential quarter. Its centrepiece is a massive stone composition by sculptors Darin Ganchev and Filip Filipov, created under the direction of Milcho Talev at the «The world is sea» plein air; a ship's propeller from the fishing harbour is worked into the piece. Green areas with drip irrigation, palms and benches complete the scheme.

On 11 September 2026 Pomorie municipal council published the agenda of its 56th session. It opens on 17 September at 10.00 in hall 2 of the municipality. The first item is report OS-695 on adopting the 2026 budget. Next come a design brief for a development plan in Kableshkovo (OS-670) and consent to a ban on lorries above eight tonnes on road BGS 2143 (OS-704). Also on the list are a purchase offer for a building in Bata (OS-707) and a mandate for the mayor to negotiate a plot in Kableshkovo (OS-722). Added to these are the 2025 annual accounts of Medical Centre 1 (OS-710) and two representation decisions. One of them concerns the general meeting of UMBAL Burgas AD on 12 October 2026.

The grape harvest in Burgas district entered its active phase on 8 September 2026. Wholesale purchase prices stand at 0.50 to 0.60 euro per kilogramme; Muscat Ottonel around Karnobat fetches 0.80 to 1.00 euro and Merlot near Sungurlare about 0.90 euro. White varieties dominate the harvest, among them Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and growers report good quality after a difficult previous year. Marketing remains the bottleneck, because supply exceeds the processing capacity of many wineries.