site.btaUPDATED Residents Block Major Road in Sofia to Protest Planned Quarry in Kremikovtsi District

Residents of Sofia’s Kremikovtsi district and the nearby village of Lokorsko temporarily blocked traffic on Botevgradsko Shose Boulevard on Tuesday in protest against plans to build a quarry for the extraction and processing of construction materials in the area.

Demonstrators voiced strong opposition to open-pit mining, citing environmental pollution and the destruction of the region’s natural landscape. Protesters said their priority was protecting the health and quality of life of local residents and their children.

The rally began in Lokorsko, after which participants staged a motorcade to Botevgradsko Shose, where they disrupted traffic as a form of civil disobedience.

Speaking to reporters, Kremikovtsi District Mayor Liliya Donkova described the proposed quarry project as yet another investment plan aimed at destroying part of the local mountain area. She argued that the proposal was “built on lies”, noting that developers claimed they would use existing roads and would not construct new ones, while in reality, the quarry site and its access points currently have no roads at all.

Donkova stressed that the proposed quarry would be located just two kilometres from the ore body of the former Kremikovtsi mine, an area with documented landslide activity. She pointed to a formal opinion from the Union of Architects in Bulgaria, which states that no investment plan of this nature should even be considered until detailed studies are conducted on the landslide processes and the potential impact of blasting.

The mayor also recalled that the quarry project had already been terminated once through legal proceedings. According to her, the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water had issued a categorical ruling against it, leaving no grounds for its revival. She emphasized that state institutions should act in the public interest and ensure residents can live in peace and safety.

Donkova added that the issue dates back to 2009, when the investment plan was first halted. The proposal resurfaced in 2017 and has now been renewed yet again, she explained.