Varna's Paid 'Blue Zone' Service to Cease on December 16 Due to Unpaid Fees

The paid "blue zone" parking service in Varna will cease operations on December 16, according to a letter sent by the company responsible for managing the area. The communication, addressed to the Varna municipality, stated that the contract between the company and the local administration expired on November 29, 2023, just two weeks after Blagomir Kotsev from "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) took office as mayor. Kotsev succeeded Ivan Portnih from GERB, who had led the city for over a decade.

Since the contract's expiration, the company has not received any payments for its services. Furthermore, the public procurement process initiated by the current municipality leadership on July 26 was put on hold in mid-August. As a result, the company has announced that it will stop servicing the "blue zone" starting December 16.

The letter, dated December 9, has not yet elicited a response from the Varna municipality. It is likely that the local administration is waiting for Mayor Kotsev's return from a business trip to Argentina, where on December 10, he signed a memorandum of cooperation with the mayor of Mar del Plata, a port city. This city is notable for hosting the Bulgarian research vessel "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" during its voyages to Antarctica, with the vessel typically based in Varna for the remainder of the year.

Source: OFFNews