Dormitories of 16 universities are being renovated

26.08.2020

The Student Councils propose four additional universities as reserves. Twelve blocks will be insulated, renovated, and furnished with new furniture. Twelve blocks in the dormitories of 16 universities across the country will be renovated with 100 million BGN, which were allocated by the government two weeks ago. This was explained to "Monitor" by Daniel Parushev, Chairman of the National Representation of Student Councils (NRSC). He added that the organization aims to increase the number of beneficiary universities to 20 and has prepared a reserve list. The selection of dormitories to be insulated, renovated, and furnished with new furniture came after the presentation of two lists – one from the Ministry of Education and another from the National Representation of Student Councils, during a meeting at the MoE, attended by the Chairman of the Rectors' Council and Rector of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" Prof. Anastas Gerdzhikov, Liliyan Vacheva, Chairman of the Trade Union "Higher Education and Science". "All universities included in both the MoE list and ours have been approved. Our goal is to reach 20, as there are reserves. If they meet the criteria, four more universities will be included. Additional analyses are being conducted," Parushev explained. Thus, at least half of the 40 dormitories in the country, which are in poor condition, will be renovated. During the selection, the readiness of universities to start repairs, the depreciation of the blocks, and whether they have a framework contract with a construction company to maintain repair activities were taken into account. The responses from universities regarding which of their blocks most urgently needs renovation also helped in the selection. Preference was given to blocks whose entrances are managed by different universities, as the goal was for more universities to receive the targeted funds. This explains the difference in the number of blocks to be renovated and the universities receiving funds. An example is Block 60 in the Student City, whose entrances are managed by three educational institutions – the University of Forestry – Sofia takes care of Entrance A, the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy – Sofia for B, and the University of Mining and Geology "St. Ivan Rilski" for C and D. Block 55 is shared by students from two universities. SU maintains Entrances A and B, the University of National and World Economy C and D. However, no funds will be allocated for the first one as it is already being renovated, clarified the Chairman of the NRSC. The list of universities whose dormitories are to be renovated is supplemented by the Agricultural University Plovdiv, the Academy of Dance and Musical Arts "Prof. Asen Diamandiev" with Block "Chayka-2", the University of Veliko Tarnovo "St. Cyril and Methodius" and Block 1, the Ruse University "Angel Kanchev" with Block 6, the Technical University – Varna with Block 15, the Technical University - Sofia with Block 2, the Trakia University in Stara Zagora with Block 1, the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy with Block 35, the University of Food Technologies - Plovdiv with Block "Maritsa 3" and the National Academy of Fine Arts with Block 28. Some of them can start repair activities within 3-4 weeks, explained Parushev. These are six universities with blocks under "Student Canteens and Dormitories" (Agricultural and Musical in Plovdiv, VUT, Ruse, Trakia, and Shumen) and UNWE and SU, which have signed framework contracts with a construction company. All other universities must launch public tenders, which will take about 2 months. The Chairman of the NRSC is concerned that if they are appealed, there is a risk that universities will lose the funds. "The 100 million BGN are from the 2020 budget. If universities fail to handle public tenders on time, these funds cannot be utilized," he explained and advised universities to organize the launch of public tenders as quickly as possible. First in the reserves is the base of Shumen University "Bishop Konstantin Preslavski", which is in the worst condition. Currently, an occupancy analysis is being conducted there, as dormitories must have full capacity. If the necessary occupancy is not achieved, renovation cannot be done, explained Parushev. Among the reserves are also Block 7 of the Medical University-Sofia, Block 1 of the Medical University-Pleven, and Block 61 of the NSA, Higher School of Telecommunications and Posts. Next week, there will be another meeting between the minister and students, after which the list is expected to be approved. The first campus is being built in the Student City. Block 2 of the Technical University-Sofia is among the blocks to be renovated. It is one of the two blocks that will be enclosed for the first campus in the Student City. The Chairman of the NRSC explained that this is not accidental and the goal is for the project to be implemented alongside the renovation. The first campus will become a fact, assured Parushev. At the end of last year, the Minister of Education, Krasimir Valchev, commented that the MoE would allocate 700-800 BGN. The project includes a bike path, several outdoor fitness areas, shared learning spaces, a café, benches, all enclosed by a fence with two entrances. A parking lot will be built for students' cars. However, it will not be underground, as was one of the implementation proposals, as it increases the implementation cost by about 2 million BGN. A mechanism is being sought to repay credits for updating the bed base. Before it became clear that the state would finance the renovation of student dormitories without repayment, two universities had drawn low-interest credits through the urban development fund in the form of long-term loans. The National Sports Academy received funds for Block 15, and NATAFIZ "Krastyo Sarafov" for Block 29. Parushev explained that a mechanism was being considered to repay these two loans. The NSA project is 3,500,000 BGN, which will replace all furniture in the dormitory rooms – beds, desks, tables, chairs, wardrobes, bookshelves, and equip the rooms with televisions, refrigerators, internet, and other amenities that meet the requirements of the university graduates. To finance the repair activities, they have developed a business plan and conducted financial analyses. Based on these, a repayment plan was developed, which will not hinder the regular repayment of the loan. However, to implement the investment program and service the loan without problems, there is a need for a gradual increase in rent over the 10-year period for loan repayment.

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Monitor.bg, 26.08.2020
Plovdiv24.bg, 26.08.2020