The municipal council in Nessebar has kicked off the process to build a new wastewater treatment plant for Sveti Vlas and Elenite. At a special meeting, all 19 councillors voted in favour.
Four municipal plots in the "Aga Cheshme" area will be split up to create new land plots, so councillors approved a change to the cadastral map and registers of Sveti Vlas. They gave preliminary approval. The land's designated use will be changed to make way for the plant. The council will also draw up a detailed development plan, including a building plan and a parcel plan covering the routes for supply infrastructure and the road link.
The decision takes effect right away because the programme's deadlines are tight and the grant money could be lost otherwise. The project is part of "Integrated Water Project for Burgas Region, Phase 2" under the 2021-2027 Environment programme, with Burgas Water and Sewage Company as the beneficiary.
These procedures are what secure the land for the new plant, said Nessebar's chief architect, Valentin Dimov. Mayor Nikolay Dimitrov said the municipality is working with the Burgas regional governor, the regional development ministry, the water utility and the water association to push the paperwork through.
The Burgas regional health inspectorate closed Iztok beach in Sveti Vlas on 12 August after sea water was contaminated by a breakdown at the Elenite treatment plant. Tourist numbers dropped in the middle of the season and local businesses lost money. On 18 September, residents of Sveti Vlas along with hotel and restaurant owners held a protest and briefly blocked the road between Burgas and Varna at the Kosharitsa checkpoint, demanding a new treatment plant for the resort.
Burgas Water and Sewage Company's managing director, Zlatina Dimitrova, said a new plant won't be running before next summer, and actual construction can only start once the land's use is officially changed and technical designs are drawn up. Regional governor Diko Dikov said on 18 September that the process of designating land and designing the new plant was already under way.
At the same meeting, councillors authorised the mayor to represent the municipality at the general assembly of the Burgas Water and Sewage Association. He will vote on four items: the 2025 annual activity report, the 2025 budget performance report, the 2026 budget, and the recommended state contribution for 2027, set at 23,000 euros. The decision passed with 14 votes in favour and 5 abstentions. If the mayor cannot attend, deputy mayor Viktor Borisov will represent the municipality instead.
With the same majority, the council also began the process of changing the boundary between the Nessebar and Ravda land areas because of Evropa Street. Part of a plot in the Ravda land area will be merged with a plot in the Nessebar land area, creating a new 8,131 sq m plot entirely within Nessebar's boundaries.
Approved designs and a building permit already exist for the street. Dimitrov said funding is in place, but the street needs to fall within a single land area for the process to move forward. Dimov said the boundary change is needed to secure funding and get the project built.