Bulgaria to Open Its 1st Transit Center for Asylum Seekers

Bulgaria's 300-capacity transit centre for asylum seekers in the Southeastern village of Pastrogor will be officially inaugurated on Thursday.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is set to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the center, local media announce.

The opening of the transit center had been obstructed by years of delays. It was declared ready already in 2007. However, it was not until 2011 that it received the so-called Act 16 certificate, which would confirm that the construction has been finished.

The Patrogor Transit Center has been criticized by some observers who claim it will operate as a "closed" (or secure) facility that denies asylum seekers freedom of movement, the Global Detention Project pointed out in 2011.

Other observers, however, have offered a different characterization, saying that the transit facility is intended to be non-secure.

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