In a way, mayors all over the world have the same objective as tour operators. To attract tourists, players in the field need to ensure that the destinations they promote are more of an attraction than alternative destinations.

The job of a mayor is even more demanding. They have to ensure that the city under their management is not only attractive to tourists, but is also a good place to live and work. And Plovdiv mayor Slavcho Atanassov has a tough task to handle, as Plovdiv has become the epitome of pressing national problems – mass workforce exodus over deteriorating economy and, respectively, living standards.

A number of surveys have seen the second-largest city in Bulgaria, that once had many thriving and versatile industrial and trade activities that ranked it also as the second-richest city in the country, slide down economic activity rankings. Many factories, computer and computation centres from the socialist era went bankrupt before or shortly after privatisation and have now been waiting for years for reinstatement. The ratio of menial to expert jobs has gone on a radical reversal as thousands of former specialists have lost jobs and are now a taxi driver or a street vendor and the effigy of the knowledge-based economy is gradually fading away.

A number of duty-free zones, once accepting the largest volumes of imports in the country, folded operations.

Against this background, it is hardly a coincidence that Ivan Chomakov, Plovdiv mayor for the past eight years, did not opt for a third term of office. And that Slavcho Atanassov won the mayoral elections right from the first round with a vision that appealed to business people.

Economic revival
In an interview with The Sofia Echo, Atanassov attributed his victory to a platform based on the revival of the Plovdiv economy. He set out with the implementation of his vision for the city while mayor of Plovdiv’s Trakia region. Then he proffered the idea to create the “Choose the Plovdiv-made” union. The union attracted all the main businesses with headquarters in Plovdiv and operating at a national and international level as members and elected Atanassov chair.

“A city can only be revived with loads of money,” Atanassov said, adding that his city economic revival strategy rests on two main pillars – stimulating local business and attracting investments.

The “loads of money” can only be generated through retention of local capital and the lure of external investments, according to the mayor.

“At present, Plovdiv business people find it more worthwhile to invest elsewhere – in Sofia or  coastal resorts or abroad. That is nothing bad, but my task as  mayor is to retain this capital in the area of the Plovdiv municipality. Capital can only remain when you have the relevant conditions, the administrative accuracy and the proper business climate,” Atanassov said.

Turning to the issue of external financing, the mayor spoke of the “circle of success”, which is based on three main levers that are interlinked – consumers, business, administration.

“When the three main levers work, even in less than perfect harmony, and do not become counter-productive, they generate this so-called circle of success,” he said. “And this circle of success can start spinning an awful lot of money.

“For this reason, it is vital that these three levers help each other and for this particular reason we started a campaign, which encourages Plovdiv’s residents to consume Plovdiv-made goods and services.”

When Plovdiv business has a high turnover, it pays more taxes to the local municipality, he said, which in turn can be reinvested into infrastructure – new nurseries, schools, roads, new sports amenities.

“The smooth functioning of these three units will turn Plovdiv into an attractive place to live, rest and work,” Atanassov said.

Eurofunds
The monetary aspect from Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union have not evaded the new Plovdiv mayor’s eye.

“It would be a crime not to take advantage of the opportunities Europe offers,” Atanassov said. He highlighted that he had not only appointed a new deputy mayor responsible for Eurofunds but also an entire new office to ensure a high absorption rate of Eurofunds.

“I will request from this particular deputy mayor that they earn an amount tantamount to the Plovdiv budget,” he said, adding that the deputy mayor would be responsible for the preparation, application and implementation of projects eligible for EU funding.

Main projects
And the projects of the Plovdiv municipality under Atanassov’s guidance will be many. On one project, Atanassov is no different than any mayor in the past 50 years, to deliver good tap water to Plovdiv’s residents.

“The construction of Vucha cascade, an investment worth 254 million leva, is a grand project that has been obsessing the dreams of every Plovdiv mayor to date,” Atanassov said. On completion, not only Plovdiv but also 14 other villages would be supplied with tap water from the Rhodope mountains. He added that he had already set up a working group to draft the project.

Another priority project is the completion of the Plovdiv ring road. Atanassov has already held detailed discussions to this end with the regional governor. The project entails the construction of a 10 km section of road and should be undertaken in co-operation with the Rhodope and Maritsa municipalities. On completion, the project should alleviate traffic in the city, whose intensity has already been approaching that in Sofia.

A third priority project is greenery. The mayor noted that while greenery should be at least 35 sq m for each “Plovdiver”, at present it is half that number, at 17 sq m.

“What is worse, the green areas are unevenly distributed in Plovdiv,” Atanassov said, describing both sides of the spectrum the Western neighbourhood (as the greenest one) and the Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods (as the least green ones).

He also underscored that the hills, whose unique alignment puts Plovdiv next to Rome and Damascus, have been largely neglected and managed by just a handful of people.

“If managed well, the hills can turn into an amazing attraction and a favourite recreation place for Plovdiv people,” Atanassov said.

Turning to Sofia’s rubbish, an issue regularly discussed by the media over the past few weeks, Atanassov said that Plovdiv would, in future, hardly be able to be of aid to the Sofia municipality. To recall, the Tsalapitsa dump has for months been the depot for the refuse of Sofia and five other municipalities. At the existing rate of depositing rubbish, the dump with capacity of 650 000 tons will be full in one and a half years, Atanassov said. Without Sofia’s rubbish, the life of the site is estimated at four years.

With or without the Sofia refuse, the same problem has been on Plovdiv’s agenda as well.

“To create a dump is not easy. The regulatory requirements are immense and the procedure on the rubbish dump projects’ approval takes at least one and a half to two years,” he said. “Not to mention that there is the psychological problem to resolve. The Suhodol row has made all Bulgarians, Plovdiv residents included, sensitive to the rubbish issue. So sensitive that no one wants a dump anywhere near their house.”

For this reason, it is essential that the rubbish recycling factory in the city of Shishmanci starts operations as soon as possible.

A few weeks into one’s office is not a great time for performance evaluation, rather it is the time for promises. Atanassov has a lot and important problems to handle and has made many promises. Hopes are that at least half the promises become reality.