(Photo: CGTN)

Bulgaria’s capital Sofia will see Europe’s first “smart city” to be built later this year. This project will be consigned to a Chinese company and the construction will start from the moment the upcoming 16+1 summit begins.

The concept of the so-called "smart city" continues as before and has so far been implemented in various places around China. It represents integration of the latest construction and information technologies.

At its outskirts, some 20 kilometers from the city center, close to the village of Ravno Pole, construction of the new city called St. Sofia will begin by the end of the year.

That particular area is popular among Bulgarian honeybee farmers, and is also a place where one of Bulgaria's best golf courses is located. It is also the place where some dramatic landscape changes are about to happen.

At the moment there are just fields with breathtakingly beautiful sunflowers. But after the harvest, in only a few months, heavy machinery will come and begin constructing Europe's first smart city, the showcase of a concept proven to be successful a number of times so far in China.

When this – Bulgarian version of the "smart city" – is finished, it'll house exhibition centers, hotels, the largest aqua park in the Balkans, office buildings, shopping malls and many other entertainment areas.

Blueprint for the 'smart city' project

The main investor on the project is the Chinese-owned Bulgaria Development Holding, which estimates that this investment is worth 1.25 billion US dollars. As we were told by Josie Lock, its executive director, this construction will be divided into phases.

"We will build phase one within the first three years," said Lock. We are hoping to start construction by the end of this year and will definitely start from the upcoming 16+1 summit. We'll have some contracts and agreements signed with some of our business partners and also with the government."

At this moment, some final agreements about the land acquisition are being finalized, including the golf course, which will remain where it is right now, as part of the new smart city leisure amenities. Project of this magnitude and importance cannot even be conceived without help from the Bulgarian government and its agency Invest Bulgaria.

Head of the Agency Stamen Yanev hopes that this important project will open further development possibilities for other Chinese companies, citing investment advantages the country offers. 

"Basically that's a great opportunity for Chinese companies, for at least three main reasons. When you invest in Bulgaria you can access the whole of Europe. Bulgaria is the closest country in the European Union to China and part of the Belt and Road Initiative," Yanev said.

Other Chinese investors joined this project recently, including China State Construction Company, ZTE and many others. All of them hope that this project will be the incentive that can create an interest among other European countries to jointly build similar cities in their territories.