WHY ROUSE (RUSE)

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Rouse Region

The following information would be very useful for a potential investor in the Region, being that a large multinational company or small hotel.

Geography and population

Rousse (Ruse) region is situated in the north-eastern part of Bulgaria and is one of the medium sized regions in the country, concerning territory and population /2 803 sq. m and a total number of population 267 621 according to the latest statistics from March 2001/. The northern boundary of Rousse region goes along the Danube river valley and coincides with the state boundary of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Romania. The situation of the administrative centre of the region - the town of Rousse - near the capital of Romania - Bucharest (45 miles) is a favourable fact which has been adequately used in the past. Today it is still a perspective, waiting for pragmatic decisions in the context of the Euro-integration future of Bulgaria and Romania.

The region has comparatively high density of population / 95,5 % people per sq.m/. It takes first place in the North central plane region. Typical for the region in this sense is the fact that the density of population in Rousse town is many times higher than in the rest 7 councils. The part of the urban population /69,7 %/ is a little higher compared to the average for the country /69 %/ and the Central plan region. The main part of it is concentrated in Rousse, where it is above 90 %. Sex structure points numerical superiority of female, which is 51,2 % of the total number of people living in the region. Regarding the age structure the most numerous is the group of the active population /age 18-64/, whose relative part is 63,5 % from the total number of population.

Telecommunication infrastructure

The telecommunication infrastructure in the region is well developed and the quality of the phone connections is on high level. The regional Telcom Company "Dalekosaobshtenia" - Rousse owns 20 of individual capacity and 55 of mutual possession production buildings in 69 settlements in the region. 66 analog Automatic telephone exchange have been mounted with a capacity of 110 300 users. There is also a digital telephone exchange for 4 200 users. An optical cable line has been constructed with a full length of 12 There is also an optical line between Rousse and Silistra, passing through the settlements Nikolovo, Slivo Pole and Borisovo, which gives the opportunity for developing of the telecommunication services and quick Internet access to smaller settlements and communities.

Electrics and Steam Power

The energy infrastructure in Rousse region is well developed and has the capacity to endure big loading which could stimulate future capacities for economic development and trans-boundary cooperation. The 77 settlements are being supplied with electricity. Lower consumption of electricity is observed recently and the reason is the economic stagnation and the closing of big consumers of electricity in the region. A lot of homes in Ruse are centrally heated by steam power supplied by two power stations. The percentage of the central heating supplied homes in the region is 11,7 %. Supplied with a central heating system are 494 buildings and 13 750 homes, the length of the heat distributing line is 81 km. The two heating plants ensure public heating supply and have high capacity to supply the industrial areas with heat for production needs.

Water supply

Rousse region has good in quality and quantity aspects water sources. Modern water supply system brings water to all 83 settlements in the region, the length of the water supply line is 1665 km.

As to the sewage, there are only two towns - Rousse and Biala that have constructed sewerage. Cesspits and absorbing wells are used in the rest of the settlements, a fact that leads to worsening the quality of the underground water.

The irrigation equipment in the region is constructed totally on pump principle, the main water sources being the Danube river and the Rusenski Lom river.

Logistics-roads, railroads, airports

The geographical situation of Rousse region characterizes the region as a major republican transport crossroad. Two of the main Pan-European transport corridors cross on the territory of the region - transport corridor ? V?? and transport corridor ? ??, added by the possibilities given by the corridor "river - sea". The town occupies a strategic place hence the existence of well-developed transport system - automobile and railway, border checkpoints, duty free area, river transport, a bridge over the Danube river, as well as personnel potential for realization of foreign economic and shipping activities. As a border town Rousse is an important customs centre accommodating the the regional customs administration for all Bulgarian customs on the Danube river - Silistra, Rousse, Svishtov, Lom and Vidin.

There are 8 customs entries in Rousse - 5 of them are border entries - the Danube bridge, The Port, Ro-Ro terminal, Railway station Rousse - Distribution and Railway station Rousse - Passenger and the rest 3 are dutiable: Terminal - East port, Cargo carrying railway station and Free zone. The Port is both a customs entry and dutiable. The national Danube carrier - Shipping company "Balgarsko rechno plavane"AD is in Rousse as well as the majority private Danube shipping companies.

Transport

Through the territory of Rousse region pass the following important international roads: E 70, E 83 and E 85. Rousse region has a well developed road network , which is equally distributed on the territory of the region. There are problems in winter conditions with accessing some of the villages near the river, in the communities of Ivanovo, Borovo and Cenovo so when buying a property ask about the winter and how high the snow is there. The density of the road network is approximately 0,370 km per sq.m on the region territory, which is considerably higher compared to the average for the country - 0,333 km/sq.m. There is constructed and well-developed railway infrastructure on the territory of Rousse region . The railroad that goes through the region has length 146,100 km, which is 2,25% of the total length of railroad for the country. Of the greatest economic importance are the railways Rousse - Gorna Oriahovica and Rousse - Varna, which is the first railroad built in Bulgaria at the end of the last century and Rousse railway stations maintain over 1/3 of Bulgarian foreign trade.

Rousse port /Rousse east and Rousse west/ is the biggest Bulgarian port on the Danube river, a part of the important transport crossway of the trans-European transport corridors ?7, ?9 and the TRASEKA corridor - Europe - Caucasus - Asia. The Rouse port has modern equipment and a container terminal and is an important factor for the development of the transit shipping along the destination Danube river - Rousse - Varna - the

Black sea/the Mediterranean. It has the capacity to serve at one time passenger and cargo ships and to ensure quick access to many European markets.

A very important contribution for the development of the town of Rousse as a major transport centre is the existence of Free off duty zone which is close to the Rousse port East and the Danube bridge and the possibilities it gives.

There are favourable conditions and well- developed transport infrastructures on the Rousse region territory that give the opportunity to combine water, road and air transport.

From Ruse by boat one can get to Varna, Trabzone and Istanbul(Turkey) , Novorosiisk (Russia), Vienna (Austria),Budapest (Hungary), Frankfurt and Cologne (Germany), etc.
Airport Shtraklevo is 17 km from Rousse. The airport Shtraklevo has a developed necessary equipment and has the possibilities to land Jumbo jet airplanes and used to make regular flights to the capital Sofia, but it does not work at the moment.

(Tenders are now out for the airport and expected completion is mid 2007)

In the regional plan for regional development is included a project that aims the reconstruction of the Shtraklevo airport with a view to open it and start national and international air flights for business and tourist purposes and cargo flights.

Cultural/Recreation Resources

Rousse is a center of different ethnic cultures. The town is very attractive for the guests and tourists visiting it with its historical and cultural landmarks. Rousse region has a great potential for the tourist development: residential, cruise, cultural, ecological, country and hunting tourism. Rousse is famous for its unique historical and archeological nature reserves: Ivanovo rock churches, medieval fortress Cherven, Nature-park Rusenski Lom, the typical for the town and the unique for the country architectural and historical monuments, galleries and museums. Of a great importance for the development of tourism in the region is the existence of all types of transport, as well as the good standard maintenance of hotels and restaurants. There are 8 hotels in Rousse -"Danube-Plaza", "Riga", "Bistra and Galina", "Splendid", "Kristal", "Rousse", "National", "Juvelir" with total number of 721 beds. The hotels "Danube-Plaza", "Riga", "Bistra and Galina" and "Splendid" have business class and modern business offices, Internet connection, conference halls available. "Tourist information centre-Rousse" is created to maintain good service information for the tourists and citizens of Rousse region.

Places of interest

The natural resources and landmarks are concentrated in the districts of Rousse, Ivanovo, Dve mogili. There are amazing natural and historical landmarks as the "Natural park - Roussenski Lom" with the canions of "Polomie", the cave "Orlova tchuka" , the rocky churches of Ivanovo and the Castle of "Cherven". The rocky churches in Ivanovo are included in the UNESCO - world natural and cultural heritage list. About 30 national-meaning cultural monuments are registered in the region of Rousse

General Tourist Information

From Varna International Airport to Rousse - 210 km. The region of Rousse has an ability to develop tourism, although it is not a traditional tourist area in comparison with other Bulgarian regions. There are resources for village and eco tourism with short vacancies. Well developed is hunting tourism.

Education

There is a University and a Medical Collage in Ruse:

The University of Rousse "Angel Kanchev"

The total number of students in the university that have studied in the school

year 2000/2001 is 6801.Most of them have studied on full-time tuition. The College of medicine in Rousse included in the structure of High Institute of medicine - Pleven .Students are taught in the college in 3 specialties /according to the state register for High school education in the Republic of Bulgaria/: "Hospital nurse", "Laboratory assistant", and "Maternity nurse".

Radio Bulgaria website, Written by Milka Dimitrova, 4th April 2006

Over the recent couple of years Bulgaria has become a magnet for foreign investors. In fact there are two countries attracting the financial currents flowing to the Balkans – Bulgaria and Romania. Investors are reassured by both countries’ NATO membership as well as by their forthcoming EU accession. Foreign businesses find Bulgaria attractive for its macroeconomic stability since the introduction of the currency board arrangement in 1999 with the Bulgarian Lev pegged to the Euro; the predictable business environment, stable banking system and the lowest taxation levels compared to Europe’s market economies.
To this bunch of assets one should add the moderate continental climate and the country’s beautiful and diverse nature. Anybody with investor’s interest in Bulgaria, has access to comprehensive information on the website of the IvestBulgaria Agency. It reads that Bulgaria boasts of highly skilled multilingual workforce at Europe’s most competitive wages. Besides, EU accession on 1 January 2007 will give investors access to the European markets with 500 M consumers. Low production costs and a comparatively low corporate tax are among other local strengths.
The state provides substantial support to the major foreign investors (with investments exceeding BGN 70 M, or EUR 35 M) through building adjacent road and communications infrastructure as well as through providing free terrains for construction of production facilities.
Over the recent years, Bulgaria’s investment legislation has been tangibly liberalized. Any corporate body, including a foreign company, is free to buy land. Foreign investments for the last 15 years have reached US $ 15 billion. For 2005 alone they amounted to some 2 billion. Largest investors come from EU – Germany, Austria, Greece and Italy. The USA has come 5th. Our taxation system is fairly liberal – corporate tax is 15%. Equipment imports are duty free when investment exceeds EUR 5 million. There is still room for improvement though. Entrepreneurs have pressed for relieving reinvested profit from tax. The key spheres of Bulgarian economy attractive for foreign investor business include power generation, light industry, IT and the infrastructure.
In a study carried out by Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) owner of the Bulgarian banks HVB Bank Biochim and Hebros Bank has found that investor interest in Bulgaria has not subsided. The study suggests that in 2006 the country will attract foreign direct investments worth 2.2 billion euro. A similar volume is forecast for 2007. The bank’s study however indicates that despite Bulgaria’s satisfactory macroeconomic indices the deficit on the current account generated by the worrying imbalance between import and export is a major challenge to the country. For the time being, it poses no great risk, because it is offset by the large volume of foreign investments, as well as due to the Central Bank’s measures to curb consumer lending.
A study by Deloitte Bulgaria commissioned by the Ministry of Economy and Energy, identifies several branches with a good potential for successful investments. These include outsourcing, IT and communications, machine-building and electronics. Deloitte experts however also point to the difficulties which foreign companies are faced with, looking for skilled personnel. This means that a major reform of the education system is a must.

Europe’s largest supermarket chains such as the German Metro and Hit and the Austrian Billa have been operating in Bulgaria for years. Blue chips Hewlett Packard and IBM have set up their regional centers here. Italian textile concern Miroglio has privatized a few Bulgarian textile factories. The German construction group Lindner built Business Park Sofia and earned First Class Investor Certificate. In 2005 one of France’s largest spare part makers Montupet arrived to Bulgaria and started construction of a plant for automobile components in the Danubean City of Ruse. Montupet plans to invest some EUR 40 million in it. One of the largest investments in 2005 was the increase in the capital of M Tel mobile operator, as it was acquired by Telecom Austria. Key investors include also Turkish glass making giant Sisecam, and Kremikovtsi metallurgical works bought by the Indian Mittal family. Their Global Steel Holding is Kremikovtsi’s new owner.

Germans and Spaniards Bid for Ruse
Standart News, 4th May 2006

Foreign investors are competing to invest in Ruse (northeastern Bulgaria). Spanish, German and Greek companies are willing to buy terrains and build factories in the future industrial park near the Danube River. The park will be erected on 64 ha of land. The main investor, the French company Montupe, will spend around 80 million euro on the project.

The town of Ruse has to make sure that the foreigners feel at home. The Bulgarian state will allot around seven million levs (1 euro = 1.95 levs) for the park's infrastructure. The Municipality of Ruse will have to choose the contractors.
"We will insist on the participation of companies from Ruse in the project. This will create around 200-300 new jobs. The park is meant for the citizens of Ruse and it has to be constructed by them," said Bozidar Jotov, mayor of Ruse.

The Romans called Ruse Sexaginta Prista - the harbor of the sixty ships. The thousand-year-old history of the town has always been closely connected with the River. In the beginning, there was only a primitive wharf erected in the middle of a swamp. A Roman fort was build later that protected the north border of the Roman Empire. Ruse became a center for the transfer of goods from North and Central Europe to Istanbul.
The foundations of today's port were laid in 1866 when the first stone wall was constructed and the Ruse-Varna railway was launched.

Today the port is Ruse's gate towards Europe.

Why Buy Property In Bulgaria?
50connect.co.uk, 8th May 2006

Located in South Eastern Europe, Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the South, Romania to the North and Macedonia and Serbia to the West. Its Eastern Border is formed by the beautiful Black Sea Coast. A country of outstanding natural beauty the environment remains unspoilt and is incredibly varied. A relatively small country, a few hours drive will take you from the snow covered central Pirin mountain Ranges to the long sandy beaches of the Black Sea coast.

Forming the heart of several of ancient histories greatest civilizations Bulgaria's rich culture is reflected in a vast number of architectural treasures.
Only Greece and Italy have a greater number of historical monuments. Throughout the country you will find ancient Greek sites, Roman amphitheatres and Byzantine churches. The country is home to 160 monasteries, 36 cultural centre's and 40,000 listed archaeological monuments. Seven sites have achieved a coveted place on the UNESCO world heritage list.

What is the cost of living in Bulgaria?

Bulgaria is said to have one of the lowest costs of living in Europe.
Quality of life

First time visitors to Bulgaria are surprised by its diversity and its stunning natural beauty. For years a real effort has been made to preserve the country's rich and unspoilt flora and fauna. As a result, Bulgaria is ecologically one of the purest countries in Europe, with exceptionally clear air and water resources. There are 7 national parks, more than 3000 protected natural sites and 17 bio-spherical reserves (the greatest recorded number in Europe). There are also 419 protected animal species and 63 protected types of plant.

Not only is the quality of life in Bulgaria good, but the cost of living is one of the lowest in Europe. A meal for two, made from locally grown and organically pure products and including a bottle of nice wine will rarely cost you more than six or so pounds. A quality beer will cost 40 pence!
The Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria

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