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Bulgarian, Russian investors to put 7.5M euro into silk plant in Byala Slatina23.08.2011Bulgarian and Russian investors will pump 7.5 million euro into a silk spinning and processing plant in the northwestern Bulgarian town of Byala Slatina.
The first phase of the project is due for completion on May 1 2012 and includes five production lines, a silk drawing capacity and a weaving unit, Milka Dimitrova, board chairperson of textile cluster Silk, told Dnevnik. The weaving line is scheduled to come online by September next year. Local firm Bulesco has been hired to build the new silk capacity in Byala Slatina.
The cluster, backed by Bulgarian and Russian capital, will raise the funds for the new plant in Byala Slatina and for textile capacities in Haskovo, southern Bulgaria, and Rousse, on the Danube River. The development of silk production in the country is partly funded by the Bulgarian Economy and Energy Ministry. At a later stage, the sector growth will be bankrolled by European grants for sericulture.
The new production capacity in Byala Slatina together with the mulberry tree and silkworm growing process will create 4000 jobs.
The plant will sell its output in Europe where silk fabrics have already become a much-sought commodity.
The Silk cluster is currently in talks to buy silk maker Dunavska Koprina, based in Rousse, to resume silk weaving there. The weaving capacity of Svila in Haskovo will also become operational, Dimitrova said.
Last year, Bulgaria drafted a 10-year strategy to revive silk production and regain its previous leadership in the sector. Bulgaria ranked first in Europe and fourth in the world in terms of raw silk production in the five years to 1985, according to data by the Bulgarian cluster. However, the sector ground to a halt in the next decades and would need significant investments to recover.
Source: The Sofia Echo