Bulgarian Town Centre Renovation Begins

Renovation of the central square in Rousse, Bulgaria, has begun, following a prolonged bureaucratic delay.

The 10m-lev ($7m) project will be financed by the European Fund for regional development, while the local city authority will provide 850,000 lev ($602,892).

The last time the square was renovated was more than 25 years ago.

The reconstruction of the 161,874m² site will be delivered by architect Venelina Bochoukovska.

The project, on completion, will retain the existing pedestrian areas, green belts, lanes, approaches and other buildings.

The existing fountains will be refurbished and a new dry fountain will be built, according to sofiaecho.com.

The renovation will also add new landscaped areas and expand the centre with the improved connections to the city.