BGN 149 million from the Development of Regions Programme will be invested in industrial parks and zones in the coal regions of the country

Projects for the construction and modernisation of basic infrastructure and advanced technologies will receive funding

BGN 149 million will be invested in the districts of Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik for the development of industrial and logistics parks. The funds are allocated by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works under the Development of Regions 2021-2027 Programme (DRP) through the selection of project proposals under the measure “Support for industrial and logistics parks and zones with a focus on the use of clean energy” under Priority 4 “Just Transition”. Investments are targeted at five priority measures. The first is for the expansion and/or development of new industrial zones/parks with a focus on clean technologies in coal affected areas and existing energy infrastructure. The second supports the development of new economic activities and the attraction of investment, including resource efficiency and circular economy. The third measure aims to promote independent industrial parks by building renewable energy installations close to the enterprises and using the green electricity they generate. Another measure aims at establishing technology centres with a focus on clean energy technologies - e.g. hubs, laboratories for the development of new products and technologies, and commercialisation of products in priority sectors. The latter foresees investments in digitisation and digital connectivity.

The maximum amount of the grant for project proposals for applicants from the Stara Zagora district is up to BGN 40 million, and for the Pernik and Kyustendil districts is up to the maximum amount of funds available under the procedure and in accordance with the applicable minimum/state aid regime, with no minimum size requirement.

With the provided grant funds, new sections and facilities of the feeder technical infrastructure - water supply, sewerage, electricity and gas transmission network, internal technical infrastructure for renewable energy production and storage capacity - can be built in the industrial zones or repaired. It will also be investable in digitalization and digital connectivity of the industrial park through broadband internet and cybersecurity, sensors and video analytics based on artificial intelligence for real-time monitoring of transport conditions and logistics, solutions to optimize energy and water consumption, smart lighting, etc.

Eligible will also be projects for the construction or reconstruction of production and administrative buildings with adjacent infrastructure, as well as the implementation of measures for digitization and digitalization, accessible environment, landscaping, recreation areas, the creation of bike lanes, parking for bicycles and cars, charging stations, energy-saving lighting, etc. The programme also supports in-house research infrastructure measures - construction of laboratories, development of high technologies, facilities and technologies for the production, use and storage of clean energy, as well as electric and thermal energy storage technologies, heat pumps, production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin, electrolyzers and fuel cells. Carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies and energy efficiency technologies related to energy systems are also eligible.

The deadline for applications is 17:00 on 19.06.2025.

The full set of Application Guidelines is published in the ISMM. Applicants to the procedure may request clarifications on them up to three weeks before the application deadline. Further questions on the Application Guidelines should be asked in writing via the 'Procedure clarifications' module of the ISMM. The clarifications are given in relation to the Application Conditions, do not contain any opinion on the quality of the project proposal and are binding for each applicant.

The project proposals shall be submitted by the applicants only in electronic format, signed with a qualified electronic signature in the ISMM through the “E-application” module.