The following information would be very useful for a potential  investor in the Region, being that a large multinational company or small hotel.

Geography and population

Rousse (Ruse) region is situated in the north-eastern part of Bulgaria and is one of the medium sized regions in the country, concerning territory and population /2 803 sq. m and a total number of population 267 621 according to the latest statistics from March 2001/. The northern boundary of Rousse region goes along the Danube river valley and coincides with the state boundary of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Romania. The situation of the administrative centre of the region - the town of Rousse - near the capital of Romania - Bucharest /45 miles/ is a favourable fact which has been adequately used in the past. Today it is still a perspective, waiting for pragmatic decisions in the context of the Euro-integration future of Bulgaria and Romania.

The region has comparatively high density of population / 95,5 % people per sq.m/. It takes first place in the North central plane region. Typical for the region in this sense is the fact that the density of population in Rousse town is many times higher than in the rest 7 councils. The part of the urban population /69,7 %/ is a little higher compared to the average for the country /69 %/ and the Central plan region. The main part of it is concentrated in Rousse, where it is above 90 %. Sex structure points numerical superiority of female, which is 51,2 % of the total number of people living in the region. Regarding the age structure the most numerous is the group of the active population /age 18-64/, whose relative part is 63,5 % from the total number of population.

Telecommunication infrastructure

The telecommunication infrastructure in the region is well developed and the  quality of the phone  connections is on high level. The regional Telcom Company  "Dalekosaobshtenia" - Rousse owns 20 of individual capacity and 55 of mutual possession production buildings in 69 settlements in the region. 66 analog Automatic telephone exchange have been mounted with a capacity of 110 300 users. There is also a digital telephone exchange for  4 200 users. An optical cable line has been constructed with a full length of 12There is also an optical line between  Rousse  and  Silistra, passing through the settlements Nikolovo, Slivo Pole and Borisovo, which gives the opportunity for developing of the telecommunication services and quick Internet access to smaller settlements and communities.

Electrics and Steam Power

The energy infrastructure in Rousse region is well developed and has the capacity to endure big loading which could stimulate future capacities for economic development and trans-boundary cooperation. The 77  settlements are being  supplied with electricity. Lower consumption of electricity is observed recently and the reason is the economic stagnation and the closing of big consumers of electricity in the region.  A lot of homes in Ruse are centrally heated by steam power supplied by two power stations.  The percentage of the central heating supplied homes in the region is 11,7 %. Supplied with a central heating system are 494 buildings and 13 750 homes, the length of the heat distributing line is 81 km. The two heating plants ensure public heating supply and have high capacity to supply the industrial areas with heat for production needs.

Water supply

Rousse region has good in quality and quantity aspects water sources. Modern water supply system brings water to all  83 settlements n the region, the length of the water supply line is 1665 km.

As to the sewage, there are only two towns - Rousse and Biala that have constructed sewerage. Cesspits and absorbing wells are used in the rest of the settlements, a fact that leads to worsening the quality of the underground water.

The irrigation equipment in the region is constructed totally on pump principle, the main water sources being the Danube river and the Rusenski Lom river.

Logistics-roads, railroads, airports

The geographical situation of Rousse region characterizes the region as a major republican transport crossroad. Two of the main Pan-European transport corridors cross on the territory of the region - transport corridor ¹ V²² and transport corridor ¹ ²Õ, added by the possibilities given by the corridor "river - sea". The town occupies a strategic place hence  the existence of well-developed transport system - automobile and railway, border checkpoints, duty free area, river transport, a bridge over the Danube river, as well as personnel potential for realization of foreign economic and shipping activities. As a border town  Rousse is an important customs centre accommodating the  the regional customs administration for all Bulgarian customs on the Danube river - Silistra, Rousse, Svishtov, Lom and Vidin.

There are 8 customs entries in Rousse - 5 of them are border entries - the Danube bridge, The Port, Ro-Ro terminal, Railway station Rousse - Distribution and Railway station Rousse - Passenger and the rest 3 are dutiable: Terminal - East port, Cargo carrying railway station and Free zone. The Port is both a customs entry and dutiable. The national Danube carrier - Shipping company "Balgarsko rechno plavane"AD is in Rousse as well as the majority private Danube shipping companies.

Transport

Through the territory of Rousse region pass the following important international roads: E 70, E 83 and E 85. Rousse region has a well developed road network , which is  equally distributed on the territory of the region. There are problems in winter conditions  with accessing  some of the villages near the river, in the communities of Ivanovo, Borovo and Cenovo so when buying a property ask about the winter and how high the snow is there. The density of the road network  is approximately 0,370 km per sq.m on the region territory, which is considerably higher compared to the average for the country - 0,333 km/sq.m. There is constructed and well-developed railway infrastructure on the territory of  Rousse region . The railroad that goes through the region has length 146,100 km, which is 2,25% of the total length of railroad for the country.  Of the greatest economic importance are the railways Rousse - Gorna Oriahovica and Rousse - Varna, which is the first railroad built in Bulgaria at the end of the last century and  Rousse railway stations maintain over 1/3 of Bulgarian foreign trade.

Rousse port /Rousse east and Rousse west/ is the biggest Bulgarian port on the Danube river, a part of the important transport crossway of the trans-European transport corridors ¹7, ¹9 and the TRASEKA corridor - Europe - Caucasus - Asia. The Rouse port has modern equipment and a container terminal and is an important factor for the development of the transit shipping along the destination Danube river - Rousse - Varna - the Black sea/the Mediterranean. It has the capacity to serve at one time passenger and cargo ships and to ensure quick access to many European markets.

A very important contribution for the development of the town of Rousse as a major transport centre is the existence of Free off duty zone which is close to the Rousse port East and the Danube bridge and the possibilities it gives.

There are favourable conditions and well- developed transport infrastructures on the Rousse region territory that give the opportunity to combine water, road and air transport.

From Ruse by boat one can get to  Varna, Trabzone and Istanbul(Turkey) , Novorosiisk (Russia), Viena (Austria),Budapest (Hungary), Frankfurt and Cologne (Germany), etc.

Airport Shtraklevo is 17 km from Rousse. The airport Shtraklevo has a developed necessary equipment and has the possibilities to land Jumbo jet airplanes and used to make regular flights to the capital Sofia, but it does not work at the moment.

In the regional plan for regional development is included a project that aims the reconstruction of the Shtraklevo airport with a view to open it and start national and international air flights for business and tourist purposes and cargo flights.

Cultural/Recreation Resources

Rousse is a center of different ethnic cultures. The town is very attractive for the guests and tourists visiting it with its historical and cultural landmarks. Rousse region has a great potential for the tourist development: residential, cruise, cultural, ecological, country and hunting tourism. Rousse is famous for its unique historical and archeological nature reserves: Ivanovo rock churches, medieval fortress Cherven, Nature-park Rusenski Lom, the typical for the town and the unique for the country architectural and historical monuments, galleries and museums. Of a great importance for the development of tourism in the region is the existence of all types of transport, as well as the good standard maintenance of hotels and restaurants. There are 8 hotels in Rousse -"Danube-Plaza", "Riga", "Bistra and Galina", "Splendid", "Kristal", "Rousse", "National", "Juvelir" with total number of 721 beds. The hotels "Danube-Plaza", "Riga", "Bistra and Galina" and "Splendid" have business class and modern business offices, Internet connection, conference halls available. "Tourist information centre-Rousse" is created to maintain good service information for the tourists and citizens of Rousse region.

Places of interest

The natural resources and landmarks are concentrated in the districts of Rousse, Ivanovo, Dve mogili. There are amazing natural and historical landmarks as the "Natural park - Roussenski Lom" with the canions of "Polomie", the cave "Orlova tchuka" , the rocky churches of Ivanovo and the Castle of "Cherven". The rocky churches in Ivanovo are included in the UNESCO - world natural and cultural heritage list. About 30 national-meaning cultural monuments are registered in the region of Rousse

General Tourist Information

From Varna International Airport to Rousse - 210 km. The region of Rousse has an ability to develop tourism, although it is not a traditional tourist area in comparison with other Bulgarian regions. There are resources for village and eco tourism with short vacancies. Well developed is hunting tourism.

Education

There is a University and a  Medical Collage in Ruse:

The University of Rousse "Angel Kanchev"

The total number of students in the university that have studied in the school year 2000/2001 is 6801.Most  of them have studied on full-time tuition. The  College of medicine in Rousse included in the structure of High Institute of medicine - Pleven .Students are taught in the college in 3 specialties /according to the state register for High school education in the Republic of Bulgaria/: "Hospital nurse", "Laboratory assistant", and "Maternity nurse".

Business information and contact data

Business centre for Small and Middle enterprises
Tel. +359 82 235669
e- mail: kg@bsc.rousse.bg

The Economic Chamber of Rousse
Tel. +359 82 232158

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Tel. +359 82 825875