07 Jul 2023
A meeting of business and the region revealed the potential of Stara Zagora to over 100 participants. At the beginning of the forum, the mayor of Stara Zagora, Zhivko Todorov, welcomed the organizers and the guests.
"I am sure that the event will be beneficial for everyone, because there is a lot to be said when it comes to the economic development of Stara Zagora. Thanks to the Capital newspaper team for organizing it, giving an opportunity to hear and exchange ideas and perspectives with the local government and what lies ahead - especially in the context of the Green Deal, which we also have something to say about. It will mostly affect Stara Zagora and the administration has its future plans, which you will hear today. Our city is developing dynamically and the data shows it. We will also continue to develop the infrastructure, which I believe is very important. I expect it to be a very interesting and fruitful discussion, I encourage you all to get actively involved because that is the way to reach better solutions. We are open to your suggestions," said Zhivko Todorov. The mayor presented both awards from the "Gepard" ranking of "Capital" for the most dynamic small and medium-sized companies. "Tivatrade" and "Esthetes" were awarded.
In the first panel of the event "Beyond chimneys: What are the industries with the potential to replace energy in the economy of the region", the participants were Rositsa Raykova, head of the "Investment“department, Radoslav Tanev, executive director of the Zagore Industrial Zone, Kiril Yanchev, head of the "Sustainable Development" department of UBB, Yuri Katanov, executive director of "Ker Toki Power" and "Renalfa" and Assoc. Dr. Manyu Moravenov, executive director of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
Rositsa Raykova gave guidelines on the possibilities of Stara Zagora and the attraction of investments in the city. "There are several directions in which we work. On the one hand - the activities on the construction of IZ "Zagore" and its presentation, because this is one of the attractors for large investors, creating jobs with added value. The next important thing is the creation of the "Investments" department as an independent unit, which further promotes the investment potential of the municipality, and this gives results. In two years, the volume of investments has increased by BGN 204 million, which in a period of two crises is a real success," Raykova emphasized.
"The analysis of the management of the "Zagore" zone shows that until this moment in the country, investors were offered areas, but they themselves went through the administrative services. We took a different strategy and simplified the processes so that when an investor comes, he can immediately start implementing his project. At this moment, the Zone is full, as we completed our technical infrastructure in middle -2020. and within these 2 and a half years we have attracted 8 investors and the ninth one is about to happen very soon. It is important to say that when an investor buys a property there are certain conditions that stimulate business development in Stara Zagora," said Radoslav Tanev during the first panel.
During the meeting, the topic of Stara Zagora Airport was also touched upon. Mayor Zhivko Todorov emphasized that the efforts of the Municipality are directed there, as this is the most suitable terrain for the development of industry in the city and overcoming the transition that is expected.
In the second panel on the topic "People, the most valuable resource of the regions", Radostin Tanev, Deputy Mayor "Transport, Cleanliness and Ecology", Associate Professor Dr. Emil Slavov, Deputy Rector for Project Activities of Thrace University took part in Stara Zagora, Vladimir Spasov, procurator of "M+S Hidravlik" JSC and Dimo Dimchev, Product Owner, Sales, eDynamix.
"What the Municipality of Stara Zagora does to attract and retain young people is based on many activities and factors related to good infrastructure, the education system and its close connection with business and a favorable and ecological environment for living. We strive to organize events through which they have the opportunity to create an easier and faster connection with the business. An example of this is the "WorkIn Stara Zagora" forum, which turned out to be an extremely fruitful and working event, and a large part of the participants were able to hold conversations with the companies, exchange ideas, and some of them are already employed," explained Radostin Tanev . He added that the connection with the secondary school, university and business should be very close, and this has been successfully worked on for several years. "Stara Zagora has the only Professional High School for Computer Science and Mathematical Analysis, but we also had to think about the moment after that and where the young people will go. Here I have to thank the management of Trakia University, who supported the idea of creating new specialties aimed at the IT sector and already in the first year 90 people were accepted. The other idea we are implementing is to make the business itself teach, it is much more effective in education. We will strive to improve our living environment more and more, and I am glad that this meeting today showed that Stara Zagora has its potential and we are moving forward boldly," added Tanev.
The third and last panel of the business meeting in Stara Zagora talked about the projects in the city. Parvan Simeonov from the "On the Street" creative team, arch. Dora Ivanova - founder of the "Project Buzludzha" foundation, Lyubomir Tsarev from the "Fund for Sustainable Urban Development", Anelia Ivanova - manager of "Public Relations" of "Philip Morris Bulgaria" and Rosen Hristov, who is the senior manager of "Corporate Sales". Vivacom.
