Bulgarian army made a ‘disturbing’ property deal, swapping 4475 sq m in Sofia’s Yuzjen Park (South Park) residential district for eight apartments with a total area of 710 sq m.

The plot was close to the US embassy and had been used as military barracks, Sega daily reported.

The deal involves the Defence Ministry and “the quite famous company Nikmi, which was involved in a series of scandalous exchanges of municipal properties” in Sofia, the newspaper said.

Under the deal the army plot was estimated at 227 leva per sq m, while the apartments was 1436 leva per sq m. Comparable terrain in Sofia was usually offered at 1000 to 1200 euro per sq m, Sega said.

The deal was signed on December 29 2005. Currently five blocks of flats are being constructed on the plot. Nikmi told Sega that prices of the apartments in the blocks vary from 1800 to 1900 euro per sq m.