Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company will build a modern port for passenger ships and a yacht marina on the island of St. Cyricus and St. Julitta near Sozopol. This was announced at a briefing in the Council of Ministers by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov. By decision of the government today, part of the island is being transferred from the Ministry of Culture to Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company.
St. Cyricus and Julitta is a unique natural asset, but for more than 15 years no solution has been found for the proper management and development of the island. "During my visit to Sozopol last summer, I promised the local community that the state would take the necessary care of the island, and today this is already a fact," said Deputy Prime Minister Karadzhov. According to him, Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company will modernise the quay wall and the entire infrastructure, build a terminal for passengers and tourist ships, a modern yacht marina, as well as a public access area with the possibility of accommodating recreational boats.
Currently, there are eight tourist ships registered in Sozopol for seasonal passenger transport, each with a capacity of over 35 people, as well as a passenger catamaran on the Sozopol-Nesebar line with a capacity of 100 people. The port is also frequented by numerous yachts. Sozopol is also a traditional fishing centre. "Despite this extremely intense traffic, Sozopol does not have a dedicated terminal for servicing tourist ships. All these vessels currently use the fishing port, whose quay is only 80-100 meters long," explained Grozdan Karadzhov.
That way, the island will take over all tourist shipping and free up the fishing port from this activity. The Ministry of Culture will retain full access to the island and the ability to develop and preserve the archaeological site. Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company will also support the activities of the Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Sozopol – a Category 2 Institute for Underwater Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO.
Within a month, the property will be handed over and accepted, after which a detailed development plan and conceptual design will be drawn up. A public tender for the implementation is expected to be announced by this summer.