BICYCLE LANE
The privatised, formerly municipal, company Sofstroy will begin constrution of the first new bicycle lane in Sofia along Evlogi Georgiev Boulevard on August 22, deputy mayor in charge of transport and communications Velizar Stoilov told The Sofia Echo on August 18. The lane has to be completed by October 31. It will be more than five km long and will run along both sides of the Perlovska River to the intersection of Evlogi Georgiev Boulevard with Gurko Street. From there, it will proceed only on the western side of the canal. The new bicycle lane is part of the six bicycle routes planned by Sofia municipality, which will connect opposite sides of the city and are scheduled to be built by the end of 2009.

STUDENT DORMS REPAIRS
The Cabinet has allocated 50 million leva for the maintenance of university students’ housing in Studentski Grad in Sofia. The repairs have already started in the University of National and World Economy, Sofia University and Technical University blocks. Education Minister Daniel Vulchev said that the money would be enough for the repairs of 11 apartment blocks, Bulgarian-language investor.bg reported on August 19.

THE GREENEST HOTEL
The Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism (BAAT) has announced the start of the Green House competition, which will assess guesthouses and family hotels in Bulgaria on the degree to which they use sustainable practices in their accommodation of tourists. All houses that fulfil the European Centre for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism (ECEAT) criteria will receive the ECEAT certificate after evaluation by a specialised committee. The winner will also be awarded a honorary diploma, a special page in the fifth edition of the bilingual Bulgarian-English guide Guesthouses and Family Hotels 2009 and on BAAT’s website, among other prizes.

WIND TURBINES NEAR ROUSSE
Vestas Windsystems A/S, a leading Danish company specialising in the production of wind turbines, has announced plans to invest in Rousse, investor.bg reported. The company is looking to either buy or rent a land plot between 10ha and 15ha along the Danube River.
Currently, it is analysing possibilities for bringing its environmentally friendly concept of electricity production to Bulgaria, investor.bg quoted town hall officials as saying.

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