site.btaMunicipalities Should Introduce Innovations After Convincing People of Their Need, Says Vratsa Mayor

There is no way for local authorities to introduce innovations without first convincing locals that they need such innovations, Vratsa Mayor Kalin Kamenov said on Monday during the annual meeting of municipalities in the Black Sea resort Albena.

"Smart cities are not made with simple people", Kamenov noted, pointing out bad examples of projects implemented across the country that practically do not work. He emphasized that many Bulgarians are not ready to use separate garbage collection, underground containers or containers for green waste and that therefore the state must allocate and invest significant amount of resources for informational and explanatory campaigns.

Kamenov also noted that despite all the talk about the use of hydrogen, there is still no certification body in the country that would allow such projects to be implemented. He urged his colleagues to invest not only in road and plumbing infrastructure, but also in education, building centres and math and informatics schools. "We want to introduce innovations, but there will be no one to use them, let alone create them", he said, adding that the Centre for Energy Development and New Sciences will be opening in Vratsa soon.

During the meeting, Trakia University Rector Prof Dobri Yarkov introduced the mayors to the ZAHYR project, which aims to build the first hydrogen valley in Bulgaria. Yarkov noted that starting from 2025 the valley will produce 500 tons of green hydrogen per year, which will be used for transportation needs. The university will also offer courses to prepare hydrogen experts, with the intake of students to start with between 20 and 50 young people.

The annual meeting of municipalities, organized by the National Association of Municipalities of the Republic of Bulgaria, will continue until October 15. BTA is media partner of the event.