site.btaEnvironment Ministry Develops Project for Construction of Marine Sciences Centre

A project for a Centre for Marine Sciences in Bulgaria has been under development for some time, said caretaker Environment and Water Minister Petar Dimitrov on Thursday during a national conference on the occasion of the International Black Sea Action Day, which is being held at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna.

"The goal is for our country to become a scientific centre for the Black Sea", Dimitrov said, adding that the idea is to locate the centre on St Kirik island, with a museum built next to it.

He noted that negotiations are underway for Bulgaria to acquire a new research vessel with the financial support of Norway. The vessel will be able to be used by all structures that conduct research at sea, but there is still no decision whether the ship will sail under a military or civilian flag.

The ministry prioritizes the protection of the Black Sea, which has unique biological species and ecosystems, Dimitrov said. He recalled that projects for the construction and modernization of water treatment plants along the coast are financed through various mechanisms and that the quality of the sea water is monitored more strictly since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. He added that with all the tests done so far, there is no evidence of a deviation from the norms.