Water Supply and Sewerage-Golden Sands LTD - Varna

Paradoxically, the highest price of water in Bulgaria is where the largest investments in the water supply network with the help of EU funds have been made - the districts of Silistra (3,298 euros/cubic meter), Razgrad (3,236 euros/cubic meter), Smolyan (3,150 euros/cubic meter) and Shumen (3,048 euros/cubic meter). In Northeastern Bulgaria (Ruse, Razgrad, Silistra, Dobrich, Shumen, Targovishte), in addition to investments in the network, the reason for the high cost of water is the high cost of electricity, because the water is pumped. The investments made have not led to a reduction in water loss in the network, and it remains a constant value of 60%. The data for the districts of Pernik, Shumen and Sliven are shocking, where over 80% of the water leaks out before reaching the taps. Of the water supply companies with over 51% state participation, the lowest price of water is in the Pazardzhik district - (1,604 euros/cubic meter) and in Blagoevgrad (1,856 euros/cubic meter). The two districts plus Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana and Razgrad are the only ones in which the state failed to unite all water supply companies under the umbrella of one operator. The policy of consolidating the sector, imposed with the mantra "one district, one water supply association and one water supply operator" with the aim of increasing efficiency through economies of scale, turned out not to work in our country and does not produce the expected results. The lowest price is for water supplied by municipal water supply companies. The price of water in the municipalities of Kresna (0.569 euros/cubic meter), Sapareva Banya (0.871 euros/cubic meter) and Bratsigovo (0.997 euros/cubic meter) is below one euro per cubic meter, despite the increase from January 1, 2026, according to KEWR data. If only the tariff for the supply of drinking water is taken into account, the price of water in Sofia (1.05 ˆ/m? excluding VAT) is more than three times higher than that in Athens and Madrid. The French company Veolia acquired the shares in Sofiyska Voda from the British United Utilities in 2010 and became the owner of the concession in the Bulgarian capital. The concession contract expired at the beginning of 2026, but before the end of the mandate of the capital's mayor Yordanka Fandakova, it was extended for another 8 years - until February 2034. In Bulgaria, concession is a dirty word and only Sofia's water is managed on this principle. There are also several private water and sewerage operators that are affiliated with enterprises, such as "Lukoil Neftochim" Burgas and "Information Carriers" AD, or serve resort complexes, such as "Water and Sewerage Golden Sands" OOD or "ACC" OOD - for a golf course and properties on the territory of the Balchik municipality. Bulgaria in recent years has also been trying to impose the Hungarian model, through the forceful consolidation of water and sewerage operators by the state. However, the National Association of Municipalities categorically opposes these attempts by the state. Since the 1990s, the European Commission has repeatedly tried to impose liberalization of water and sewerage services. European directives were introduced, which sparked transnational protests from unions and NGOs, such as "Right to Water". They declared themselves to defend access to water as a basic human right.