The MRDPW has started to sign contracts for renovation of multi-family residential buildings under Phase II of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan

Contracts are also being concluded on Phase I of the programme

The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) has started the contracting process with municipalities to implement energy efficiency retrofits of multi-family residential buildings approved under Phase II of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. The procedure foresees that the municipalities, as the lead partners of the renovation programme, will receive 80% of the cost of the projects in the form of a grant for the implementation of investments, while the remaining 20% is the homeowners' own contribution.

A total of 282 multi-family residential buildings in 65 municipal and district administrations have been approved under Phase II of the “Support for Sustainable Energy Renovation of the Residential Building Stock - Phase II” programme under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It is expected that just over BGN 138 million including VAT will be invested in energy efficiency measures in the approved blocks. Of this, the grant is close to BGN 110 million and the remaining funds are the owners' associations' own contribution.  The main objective of the programme is to improve the energy performance of residential buildings, which after renovation should reach energy consumption class “B”, reduce energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, achieve 30% savings in primary energy, reduce energy costs, improve living conditions and quality of life through technological renovation and modernisation of the building stock, etc.

The own contribution of the owners' associations shall be provided within the time limit of the date of signing of the grant agreement concluded between the Ministry of Regional Development and the municipality concerned. These funds will be used to finance the energy efficiency audit and certification, the technical performance audit and the preparation of a technical passport for the building and other administrative activities.

The Ministry of Regional Development continues and is working hard to conclude contracts for renovation of the residential blocks under Phase I of the programme. To date, 739 invitations for submission of documents for conclusion of financing contracts with municipalities have been sent. Approximately 600 allocation decisions have been issued and 366 financing contracts have been concluded. Around 250 more will be signed shortly. Nearly BGN 1.129 billion will be invested in energy efficiency measures in these blocks. Once a municipality receives the invitation, it has 14 days to submit the required documents, after which the MRDPW will examine them and decide on the grant.

The progress on the conclusion of the contracts became possible after the team of Minister Violeta Koritarova overcame the existing delay in the examination of the project proposals under the procedures for energy efficiency of the residential building stock under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. Checks were made in a short time, all objections were reviewed and the sending of invitations to provide the necessary documents and to conclude contracts started at a very fast pace, albeit with reduced administrative capacity.

In view of the remaining time for the implementation of the projects until the end of June 2026, the MRDPW calls on the municipalities that have not yet announced public tenders for the selection of contractor and supervision to mobilize their efforts and launch the procedures in a short time. The implementation of the projects should be among the priorities of the local authorities in view of the deadlines and expectations from the public. For approved projects that do not yet have a contract, municipalities can launch conditional tenders, which is a permissible and workable measure.