"Wherever I go, the quiet town of Kubrat always travels with me in my heart.” This is what Bulgarian singer Lili Ivanova sings about the little town, where she was born, bearing the name of a fearsome khan. Today the town of Kubrat is about to change its looks thanks to European projects.

A new waste water treatment plant and water supply network built for some 17 million euro are already in operation. How has life in the town changed thanks to the EU projects?

Here is the answer of engineer Stoyan Penev – head of „Territorial and urban development, agriculture, trade, environmental protection, investment activities and European projects department’ in the municipality of Kubrat:

"First, the quality of drinking water has improved because most of the old pipes were made of fibre cement and few were steel ones. The new water supply network ensures there are no leakages and citizens enjoy cleaner water now.”

In October a new modern sports hall will also open in the town.

“This has been the dream of many of the citizens of Kubrat as we have well developed handball club with players of all ages. Now we're about to have this dream realized. The hall will have 500 seats and will allow for the practice of a number of sports and for organising various tournaments.”

New and modern playgrounds and sports facilities attract the attention of visitors to the town:

"We built the sport facilities under the Regions in Growth Program,” engineer Penev says. “We placed fitness equipment in parks; built mini football fields, basketball courts, etc. Lighting enables citizens to practice sports until late in the evening. These sports facilities are in neighbourhoods where young population is concentrated and there are conditions for mass sport. Thanks to the project we also renovated the playgrounds in the town’s kindergartens.”

The pride of the town of Kubrat is the local park, named after the Swedish twin town of Åmål. In the park one can see rare tree species like ginkgo biloba, Judas tree, Lebanon cedar, black pine and others.

Mr. Penev says that within the framework of the Rural Region Development Program in the period 2014-2020 Kubrat will apply for financing for renovation of the town center, the pedestrian zone, and green areas. This will make Kubrat even more attractive to its citizens and tourists.

English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Sevkie Cakir