site.btaNessebar Municipality Not Directly Responsible for Elenite Construction, Mayor Dimitrov Says

Nessebar Municipality holds no direct responsibility for the construction activities in the Elenite resort area, Mayor Nikolay Dimitrov told reporters on Wednesday in Burgas, Southeastern Bulgaria. His statement followed a coordination meeting convened by the Burgas Regional Governor, in response to the recent disaster in the Elenite resort complex on Bulgaria’s southern Black Sea coast.

Mediapool reported on Tuesday that key figures linked to the river’s development in Elenite are Nessebar Mayor Nikolay Dimitrov, whose approval is essential for local projects, and investor Vetko Arabadzhiev, the informal owner of much of the area’s hotels, with an offshore company reportedly reselling homes built over the riverbed.

The construction in Elenite expanded between 2007 and 2019, spanning the governments of the Triple Coalition (Bulgarian Socialist Party, National Movement for Stability and Progress, and Movement for Rights and Freedoms) and subsequent GERB administrations under then Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Throughout this period, Nessebar Mayor Nikolay Dimitrov, now in his fifth term, and Chief Architect Valentin Dimov oversaw all local construction projects, with locals noting that even small additions like fences required their approval. During this time, the Nessebar Municipal Council approved a detailed development plan for Elenite, worked on by several architects and design firms. 

Addressing questions about his recent silence on the matter, Mayor Dimitrov said simply: "I have nothing to say."

When asked whether a representative of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water had participated in the expert council that approved the detailed development plan, Dimitrov declined to comment further, stating: "There are documents, and when necessary, they will be disclosed."

Asked if anything was troubling him in relation to the ongoing investigation, he responded: "No, nothing is bothering me."

In response to claims by the Basin Directorate that there was no coordination during the drafting of the development plan, Dimitrov reiterated that: "All documents will be disclosed when the inspections are completed."

Regarding the operational status of the hotel in Elenite, Dimitrov clarified that it was not the municipality that authorized its use, but rather a "comprehensive report by a supervisory company." When pressed on whether this meant that no official occupancy permit had been issued confirming the building’s compliance with the approved project, Dimitrov declined to elaborate: "I said what I had to say. I will not repeat myself. There is a comprehensive report - that is how it is done."

Dimitrov denied the municipality's direct responsibility for the construction in the ravine affected by the disaster.