site.btaMain Project in Haskovo during Last Programming Period Aimed to Improve Educational Infrastructure

In the previous programming period, the main project implemented by Haskovo Municipality was related to improving the educational infrastructure, which was part of the integrated plans for urban regeneration and development, Valentin Spendzharov, Chief Expert at Haskovo Municipality's European and National Programmes and Projects Directorate, said during a local conference held here on Wednesday. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.

He specified that the project, which is worth over BGN 20 million, included two large schools and eight buildings of four kindergartens. In the same period, the dormitories and workshops of the Vocational High School of Woodworking and Construction were renovated and reconstructed as well. "In this period, we continue with the funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, under which a large number of projects are being implemented," Spendzharov underscored, adding that the main ones are for the reconstruction of a primary school, three kindergarten buildings, the dormitories next to the High School of Mathematics and the Centre for Excellence.

Spendzharov noted that the integrated concept that Haskovo Municipality has developed includes many measures to improve the educational infrastructure, and that it is about to be implemented soon. It envisages modernization and energy efficiency measures at various schools in Haskovo Region. Within the framework of the concept, soft measures related to desegregation and continuing education and adult literacy will be implemented as well, he underscored.

Spendzharov also presented the CARE-GET project, in which Haskovo Municipality is a leading partner and partners with the Trakia University in Stara Zagora and companies from Bulgaria and Romania, representatives of the non-governmental sector, as well as the municipalities of Siena from Italy, Komotini from Greece and Druskininkai from Lithuania. Under the project, the building of a former orphanage in Haskovo, which has not been functioning for years, will be transformed into an innovative medical and technological centre. "We hope that with the joint efforts of all partners, through the construction of the centre, we will retain young talents in the town", Spendzharov concluded.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.