Bulgaria’s grid fit for just 17% of clean energy pipeline Bulgaria& rsquo;s power system has the capacity to hook up only 17 percent of the renewable energy projects announced so far, experts told a hydro energy forum held near the coastal city of Varna last week. Ventsislav Zahov, electricity regimes head at the state-owned system operator ESO, estimated ... New construction down 22 percent The new housing, office and retail buildings in Bulgaria fell by more than 22% in August 2009 compared with the corresponding month of last year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said Friday. Civil construction pulled off a smaller, 4.2% decrease. The total construction stock slipped by 17% ... Bulgaria’s furniture sector braces for 40% drop in sales Battered by a sharp deterioration in domestic demand, Bulgaria& rsquo;s furniture manufacturers are facing an up to 40% slide in sales, according to Kalin Simeonov, chairman of the wood processing and furniture chamber. Speaking at the World of Furniture exhibition running at Sofia& rsquo;s Inter Ex... Brussels races Sofia metro extension After nine-month talks the European Commission cleared a EUR 157 million funding for the construction of the second arc of the Sofia underground railways, said Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The stretch linking Nadezhda quarter and Cherni Vrah Boulevard is worth EUR 247 million, with the balance due ... Bulgaria lending still hovers near freezing point Aug 2009 The Bulgarian credit market eked out an anemic increase of slightly over 0% in August in a sign that unclogging could be tougher than expected, showed the latest figures of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The combined corporate loan portfolio of local lenders inched up by 0.06% from July, reachin...