Yordanka Fandakova

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova says she has accepted the resignation of her deputy Mariya Boyadzhiyska, who was in charge of environmental issues.

Boyadzhiyska declared she was stepping down earlier this week, on Tuesday, daily 24 Chasa quotes Fandakova as saying.

"We talked, I tried to talk her out of it, but she has personal reasons to step down."

 "As of 2018, garbage in the centre of Sofia will be underground. The project for the installation of underground containers is expected to be launched next year," stated Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, cited by Darik radio.

A total of BGN 172 M have been allocated for cleaning in 2017 without a change in the garbage tax.

Sofia's Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has invited world-famous Danish architect and urbanist Jan Gehl to consult on the preparation of a long-term vision for the development of Sofia in the section 'development of green city spaces,' reported the press centre of Sofia Municipality.

Unmanned trains will go down Sofia's third subway line, a the head of the metro company has said.

Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva will be the main ruling party's candidate in the presidential elections, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said.

Vice Admiral Plamen Manushev will be the GERB's candidate for Vice President.

Tsacheva, the first female Parliament Speaker of Bulgaria, will also become the first female President if elected.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is expected to announce his party's candidates for president and vice president on Sunday.

The event will follow months of silence on behalf of his party, conservative GERB, which has repeatedly declined to reveal the names.

The probability of GERB nominating for president the chairman of Parliament Tsetska Tsacheva, the mayors of Sofia and Burgas - Yordanka Fandakova and Dimitar Nikolov, and Vice Premier Tomislav Donchev is 99%, said on bTV the chairman of the pre-election headquarters of GERB Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said he is "not commenting" on information that Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva is the nomination of his GERB party for the presidential elections.

Earlier, the names of Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, Deputy PM Tomislav Donchev, Burgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov, and Tsacheva herself have been repeatedly mentioned as possible nominees.

Sofia has attracted over half a million tourists since the beginning of 2016, stated on Tuesday Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova at the first meeting of the mayors of capitals in Central and Eastern Europe and China "16+1".

Over BGN 20 M have been invested in 2016 for repairs and construction of schools and kindergartens in Sofia, stated Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

A total of 51 schools and kindergartens are being fully repaired, while the construction of 3 more will begin by the end of the year. The main investments of Sofia Municipality are related to increasing energy efficiency, added Fandakova.