Bulgaria to Renovate Nearly 56 Million Square Meters of Residential Buildings by 2030

Minister Naydenov presented the National Plan for Building Renovation by 2050

By 2030, Bulgaria needs to renovate nearly 56 million square meters of living space, both multi-family and single-family residential buildings. By 2035, renovated residential buildings should reach about 79 million square meters.

This was announced by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Nikolay Naydenov. The estimates are set out in the National Plan for Building Renovation by 2050, announced today for public discussion.

About 15.4 million square meters of non-residential buildings need to be renovated by 2030 and about 19.6 million by 2033, the minister said.

"The goals are ambitious, but they are not a political choice," said Minister Naydenov, stressing that they stem from European legislation. In his words, the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires Member States to significantly accelerate the renovation of the building stock and Bulgaria needs to meet these targets, "the plan shows how this can be done in a realistic and sustainable way."

According to the Minister, the implementation of the plan means lower energy bills for households, better-looking cities and modernised public infrastructure, development of the construction sector and local economies, increasing household disposable income. According to him, the implementation of the objectives set out in the plan is not only a climate policy, but also an economic, social and energy policy that will improve the quality of life of people and renovate Bulgarian cities.   

The total amount needed for the energy renovation of the building stock foreseen in the Plan is around €20 billion.

“They will be provided with a mix of financial instruments – the Bulgarian state, the European Union, the Social Climate Fund, the Decarbonisation Fund, the Just Transition Fund,” explained Dora Yankova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works. She stressed that the Fund will be the key financial instrument that will combine grants, guarantees and loans and will mobilise significantly more investment in building renovation. The first priority of the fund will be the renovation of single-family residential buildings. The first programmes targeting this segment are expected to start within the year.

The objectives set are to be achieved through the implementation of the current programmes, the implementation of the investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the second stage of the National Energy Efficiency Programme.

One of the main objectives of the plan is to end the practice of short-term programmes that reach a small circle of citizens and to create a sustainable market for building renovation.

Complex service centres will be set up to support citizens and businesses throughout the process, from project preparation to financing and implementation.

The plan envisages improving coordination between key institutions – the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Finance and municipalities.

The Executive Director of the Sustainable Energy Development Agency Ivaylo Alexiev, the authors of the technical analyses of the plan – Tsveta Nanyova from the Bulgarian Facility Management Association and Dragomir Tsanev from the EnEffect Center for Energy Efficiency – also took part in the presentation of the Plan.