site.btaPublic-Private Partnership through Concessions Discussed at Sofia University
A discussion forum on Concessions - Opportunities and Challenges opened on Thursday at the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. The event was organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
Mariana Slavkova, Head of the Concessions Department at the Strategic Development, Coordination and Concessions Directorate of the Council of Ministers, said that a concession is an effective instrument for public-private partnership, defining it as the granting of the right to use a public asset to a private entity for a specified period, in return for payment.
She added that the first Concessions Act was adopted in 1995. Some of the earliest concessions granted were linked to privatization, the extraction of limestone and copper, other underground resources, and the management of sea beaches.
Assoc. Prof. Atanas Georgiev, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, noted that the topic of concessions is particularly timely, as preparations for the new state budget are under way. In his view, the State is seeking partners capable of undertaking specific investments, while effective cooperation between the public and private sectors remains essential.
Dr Marina Belcheva, lecturer at Sofia University, pointed out that interest in concessions has risen over the past year. She observed that policymakers often turn to concession mechanisms when public funds are insufficient to finance infrastructure projects.
/RY/
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