Initial plans announced by the Transport Ministry to sell railway stations Pioner and Serdika are yet again to fall through, Dnevnik daily reported. The paper quoted Minister Petar Moutafchiev as saying that a possible obstruction to the sale was problem with the city's land register. It would take up to a month for the regional administration to prepare a new ground plan for the Pioner station.

Last year, Moutafchiev expressed hopes making more than 160 million leva from the sale of 30 plots of land currently in possession of the Bulgarian State Railways and the National Railway Infrastructure Company. The money would be invested in modernisation of the existing railroads.

Pioner Station in Sofia borough occupies 6 ha and has an estimated value of 24 million leva, while Serdika's estimated worth is 40 million. The railway companies admit that the stations attract many investors. A year ago, it was rumored that a residential complex, a children's entertainment zone and an adjoining parking lot will appear on the 5 ha Serdika plot.

Recently, Dnevnik daily reported that there were developers that have obtained permits to build homes and offices.

According to Dnevnik, Real estate agencies have commented that prices of plots close the stations cost about 950 euro a sq m. Being considerably large terrains, investors are now considered them because of the lack of available plots the city centre.

Serdika station's plot has been long embroiled in controversy, because parts of the 5 ha area are being owned both by the Sofia municipality and the state. Lawsuits to settle the matter have been filed.