Thanks to TheMayor.eu we will keep up with the European mayors

The small Bulgarian municipality develops well

Dimitar Stefanov, Mayor of Tutrakan, Bulgaria, speaks about the benefits of the European portal of cities and citizens – TheMayor.eu and his current plans for the development of Tutrakan.

Mr Stefanov, what do you think are the benefits of TheMayor.eu platform for the municipalities? What are your expectations?

I think that TheMayor.eu will help Bulgarian mayors keep up with their European colleagues. We can gain a lot from their experience and apply it here in Bulgaria. There are many prosperous mayors here who can be compared to the mayors of big EU cities. I think that the platform is indeed unique.

Which are the twin towns of Tutrakan?

One is Chernooch in Romania with a population of7,800, the other is Çorlu in Turkey. Last year there were negotiations in Vietnam in order to obtain a twin town from another continent. Regardless of the country and the political situation in it, we can gain experience from the way it develops and its administration. In Chernooch we are working on an educational center for civil protection.

Is there an air pollution problem in your municipality?

No, in Tutrakan we do not have such problems. Factories here have sensors that constantly check on the air quality. What we manufacture here does not pollute the air. We have textile factories and factories for electronics.

What European projects are you working on now?

Our major project is the operational program is “Regions in Growth”. We improve energy efficiency in 18 apartment buildings and the funds for the 13 of them come from the EU, the funds for the other 5 are national. We also work on project about international collaboration. For the “Rural Development” program we have applied with a project for 1.5 million Euro for the renovation of road sections which is very important for our municipality.  We work on the water cycle too and hope by the end of 2017 to have finalized our negotiations with the Ministry of Environment and Waters and the Ministry of Regional Development and sign a contract for financing. The project is for over 30 million BGN. Work is a lot but we are doing it well.

Do foreigners buy properties in Tutrakan?

Yes, there are a lot of foreigners who have bought property here – citizens of the USA, England and Italy. A part of them already lives in the municipality. And not only foreigners buy properties here – Bulgarians as well. Tutrakan is a peaceful municipality, with clean air, close to the river and very beautiful. Infrastructure is also good.

Does Tutrakan attract visitors and have their numbers increased?

Yes, there has been increase in the number of people visiting Tutrakan in the last 3-4 years. But, of course, we cannot simply tell them to come; infrastructure has to be good that is why we have invested a lot in improving it. There are also many tourist attractions here such as the Transmariska fortress or the Museum of fishing in Danube. The fishing quarter of Tutrakan is unique. There are also 7 islands in the municipality along the river.

Find out more about Tutrakan here