Sofia City Hall To Woo Hightech Firms, Chief Architect Says

Sofia city hall to woo high-tech firms, chief architect says

Sofia city hall plans to woo high-tech companies by offering a number of incentives, including real estate, the city's chief architect Petar Dikov said at the Balkan Real Estate conference (BalREc) in Sofia on April 15.

"We already have several initiatives in mind on how to draw companies using advanced technologies to the city, which include issuing construction permits," Dikov said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

The initiatives are part of the wider plan for the economic development of the city, along with efforts to improve infrastructure in the city. Sofia plans to expand its metro network and build five big underground parking lots to ease traffic congestion in the city and "turn the city centre from a chaotic parking lot into an area that can used by people," Dikov said.

Given the shortage of available space the closer one gets to the city centre, skyscrapers are an option the city hall is willing to consider.

"The skyline is something that sells very well," Dikov said. The main criterion for building any skyscraper is whether it was economically viable, since the construction and maintenance costs of buildings with more than 20 floors went up by at least 50 per cent if that threshold is passed, he added.

Conditions in Sofia allowed to build both office and residential skyscrapers, as long as they are not higher than 150m, Dikov said.sofiaecho.com