Sofia municipality plans to grant a concession on the terrain under the Tsar Osvoboditel monument in front of the Parliament building.

This was announced at a session of the Sofia municipal council’s committee on engineering and infrastructure, held on May 21.

According to the plans, 3650 sq m under the monument will be granted on concession for 35 years.

The aim is to urge investors to built an underground parking facility with 203 parking stalls on two levels. The plans envisage that the future investor will finance the construction of the facility via his personal funds. The term provided in the plans for drafting a project, its approval by the municipality and completion of the parking lot is between 18 to 19 months and two years.

Preliminary financial analysis shows the concessionaire would have to invest at least six million leva in the project.

The potential investor will have usage rights for five years at the parking zone above the underground parking lot and will start paying the municipality a minimum concession fee of 35 000 leva at the eighth year of the contract signing. The concessionaire would begin to pay the full extent of the fee – 122 000 leva – in the 18th year of the concession period.

The plans were made based on 2.50 leva an hour for a parking space in the underground parking area and three leva an hour for a parking space at ground level, municipality representative Nedyalko Nedyalkov said at the session.

Analysts said that through parking fees, the investor would be able to return the initial investment in three years. A number of city councillors objected to the selected location but all welcomed the idea for such a solution to Sofia’s parking problem.

That a parking lot should not be constructed right next to the entrance of the National Assembly was one of the arguments of the objecting councillors. They claimed that the crossroad in front of Parliament is one of the busiest in Sofia and vehicle entrance into the future parking facility would be dangerous for all.

According to archaeologists, there was no knowledge of valuable findings that could be located in the area beneath the square. However, if there such valuable sites are discovered, the investor will have to first fund an archaeological excavation.

The terrain is the only one analysed and approved for the purpose by the municipality so far. The location has a great potential because the current traffic will guarantee an almost 100-per cent full capacity.