· Austrian Airlines voiced plans to launch a regular service along the Vienna-Varna-Vienna line as of March 28, the Varna Airport press office said on February 10. The flights are expected to be performed four times weekly. So far, 33 Bulgarian and foreign airlines have filed bids to perform charter flights from various destinations in Germany, Russia, the Scandinavian countries and Poland to Varna during the summer. The number of passengers serviced at the Varna Airport in January was 48 per cent up compared to the same period of 2004. The increase is due to the Budapest-Varna-Budapest regular service performed by the Malev Hungarian Airlines.

· Furniture production in Bulgaria increased by 20 per cent last year and the exports of this industry to the EU markets went up 22 per cent, Genoveva Hristova, executive director of the sector chamber said. Furniture producers generated 4.5 per cent of the GDP as of the end of 2004, up against 1.5 per cent in 2001. Seven Bulgarian furniture makers participated in this year’s edition of the international furniture exhibition IMM in Cologne in January. For the first time two of the Bulgarian exhibitors signed contracts with clients right at the exhibition – for a total of 300 000 euro. The furniture industry is expected to finalise contracts for nearly 2.7 million euros this year, up by 700 000 from last year.

· Kapo of Austria will invest 65 million euro in the construction of a trade centre, spa resort with golf court as well as in a plant for production of windows and doors in Plovdiv, the company’s director Karl Polzhofer said. The trade centre will be located in the old town and the total expenditure on modernisation of the already bought buildings is estimated at five million euro. Kapo has bought a land plot of four hectares for the construction of its plant, which will swallow another 10 million euro. The company has chosen a suitable place for the golf court and it plans to invest in it 50 million euro.