Photo: Dimitar Petrov
Immediately after the Silistra Municipal Council approved a request for the free use of state property that was no longer needed, someone decided that some of it had to be removed urgently with the absurd intention of “preserving” it.
This is what happened to one of the well-preserved state properties in Silistra. As already reported by “Za Istinata,” at its regular meeting on August 27, the Municipal Council approved a request by Mayor Alexander Sabanov for the free acquisition of ownership rights to the state-owned Pelikan holiday resort.
The holiday resort in the western industrial zone of Silistra is one of several resorts of the same name in the region. It is state-owned and managed by the Ministry of Education and Science through the company “Student Recreation and Sports” Ltd.
An inspection by “Za Istinata” in mid-July showed that the resort is poorly maintained, but has a number of well-preserved buildings that can be requested by the administration for free use, mainly because the buildings are located in the center of land already acquired by the municipality for a future industrial park.
Such a procedure was initiated and the municipality submitted a request to the Ministry of Education to use the buildings of the Pelican base in the western industrial zone of the city. The subsequent response from the ministry required a decision approving the acquisition by the Municipal Council. This was given at the regular council meeting on August 28 this year.
However, just one day later, a new inspection by Za Istinata revealed that someone was carrying out destructive activities at the base. Individuals were found on site breaking windows and cutting metal elements of one of the buildings at the base with an oxyacetylene torch.
They claimed to be workers from a company that had a contract with the owner to demolish the building, but after we arrived, they stopped working and left immediately. As suspicions arose, a report was made to the Ministry of Interior on tel. 112. A patrol from the Silistra Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior arrived at the scene and called a representative of the owner. The son of the person responsible for the base arrived at the site. According to his statements, the workers had been tasked with dismantling one of the buildings because it had been vandalized some time ago.
The building is formally classified as removable. However, it is clear from the site that it is quite solid, although it is mostly made of metal, and despite the lack of any maintenance over the years.
This raises the question:
Why, given that the buildings on the base have not been maintained for years and no measures have been taken to preserve them, did someone decide, immediately after the Municipal Council’s decision, to start preserving them… by demolishing them?
We sought comment by telephone from the person responsible for the base, Ms. Tsvetanka Dimova. After first denying our right to take an interest in the base, she stated that despite the decision taken by the Municipal Council, the buildings were still owned by the state-owned company “Uchenicheski Otdykh” EOOD and the owner could dispose of them as it saw fit, and that the decision to dismantle them had been reached after consultation with the director of UOS – Sofia.
The report and the inspection were carried out on site and forwarded to the Silistra District Prosecutor’s Office, which issued a ruling that there was insufficient evidence of a crime having been committed, but which also contained answers to some questions.
Tsvetanka Dimova presented a contract for the dismantling of the metal elements of the building (which consists mainly of metal elements), which was concluded on August 28, 2025. This is the exact day on which the Silistra Municipal Council voted on the request to use the facility.
What made it so urgent to “preserve” the building, given that it had not been so urgent until then and would most likely not be urgent for years to come?
The subject of the contract is the installation and dismantling of metal elements in the building, with the contractor required to remove the metal elements and close the building. How should it be closed? With other metal elements or plywood?
On paper, it sounds perfect. However, the photos show what is happening in practice – when comparing the photos before and after the work began, it can be seen that not only the metal elements but also the walls are being removed from the facade – in other words, the building is being completely demolished, not just the windows and doors. This can also be seen in the video.
Given that the Silistra Municipal Council has approved the intention to renovate the buildings with municipal funds, if they are made available for use, this will in practice be much more expensive for the municipal budget – that is, for the citizens. Thus, the owner’s actions do not appear to be in the public interest.
Moreover, according to the statements of Tsvetanka Dimova’s son, the building was supposed to be completely demolished. This statement is not without foundation.
The contractor under the contract is Vodstroy Trade EOOD, a company specializing in the purchase of scrap metal, affiliated with Hidrostroy-Bulgaria EOOD (owned by Radko Ganchev), based in the village of Kalipetrovo. So the metal parts of the building may also be scrapped due to lack of need.
For now, the actions to implement the contract and dismantle the building have been suspended, and the building remains in the condition in which it was left during the inspection.
