Daniel Berg, Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Bulgaria:

We can jointly with BCC improve the system for public procurement

    Mr. Berg, you recently met with the management of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber. On what projects are you going to work together? Actually this was my first meeting with the Chamber, at which we exchanged useful experience and review of each other’s activities. We both expressed concern about the system for public procurement in Bulgaria. We think it could be further improved. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has considered some small assistance projects in this area. I will welcome the opportunity for the Chamber to participate in this effort. I also explained the way that construction companies can benefit from large EBRD projects – be they in property, infrastructure and industry. I look forward to working with the Chamber in the weeks and months ahead.     For what projects do you provide funding in our country? They are in different sectors. The largest share of funding is with banks, which are able to on-lend funds with specific projects, such as energy efficiency. In recent years we have invested in a number of power projects, including thermal (Maritsa-East 1), hydro (Vez Svoghe) and wind (St.Nikola and Suvorovo). We expect to finance additional renewable energy projects in 2012 and 2013.