Water industry

A fire broke out in a residential building in one of the big districts of Blagoevgrad, and the victims of the fiery hell are 3 according to unconfirmed reports.

The fire was extinguished late in the evening, but there is a lot of water in the building.

''Sofiyska Voda'' will suspend the water supply in some parts of the capital on February 5, 2019, Tuesday, in connection with the construction of a street water pipe near ''Suhodolska'' Street in the ''Fakulteta'' district, the repair of Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard and the installation of a fire Hydrant in the ''Sveta Troitsa'' quarter.

Bulgaria's Ombudsman Maya Manolova filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against a provision in the Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act concerning the formation of water prices, her press office said, quoted by Focus News Agency.

The European Commission has sent to Bulgaria and Cyprus a formal warning letter to initiate a criminal procedure for detected deficiencies in the implementation of the requirements of Directive 91/271 on urban wastewater treatment, according to BGNES.

By Giorgos Lialios

State sell-off fund TAIPED announced on Monday that it was freezing the privatization process for the majority stake in the Thessaloniki Water Company (EYATH).

Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition has imposed a fine on water utility Sofiyska Voda for BGN 4,800,600 for abuse of a dominant position.

A top Greek court has blocked the planned privatization of the country’s biggest water utility, the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP), the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) has reported, on the grounds the sale could put public health at risk.

Opponents of plans to privatize EYATH, the state-run company that provides the northern port city of Thessaloniki with water and sewage services, hope to reverse the process by putting it to a referendum on Sunday.

Currently, 65% of the water in Bulgaria's water supply networks is lost, according to Minister of Regional Development Desislava Terzieva.

There are more than 75,000 water pipes on the territory of the country, Terzieva said at the presentation of the management and development of the water sector strategy, BNGES reports.