Ginka Varbakova and the Failed Plan for the Largest Solar Plant in Southeastern Europe

On 4 July 2008, Pazardzhik Municipality signed a contract with Real States EOOD. The private company is owned by Ginka Varbakova, whose subsequent bid to acquire the Bulgarian assets of the Czech electricity company ČEZ, generated significant controversy in the country. Real States paid BGN 500,000 for nearly 2,000 decares of municipal land.

The investor was tasked with building a solar photovoltaic park with capacity of 50 MW. The stipulated deadline was 32 months from the issue date of the construction permit. The contract outlined a number of other conditions for the investor to meet and contained a penalty clause, allowing the municipality to ask for EUR 1 mln. in case clauses were violated.

To date, only 2.45 MW of the pledged 50 have been installed. ACF’s review of the contract and three annexes signed subsequently showed that the municipality failed to invoke the penalty clause and to protect the public interest. On 20 November 2018, ACF filed a report with the Specialized Prosecution. On 5 June 2019, the prosecution decided it would not open an investigation into the case.