10 years later: The Luda Yana Dam is ready
Construction of the reservoir began in 2016 and was scheduled to be completed in two and a half years
~ 2 min read
Georgi Zhelyazkov The National Construction Control Directorate (NCCD) issued a permit for the use of the Luda Yana Dam for drinking water. This marks the end of the 10-year construction of the facility, which began in 2016. The reservoir is intended to ensure the water supply of Panagyurishte and the region.
This is a medium-sized dam for drinking water needs. The capacity of the facility is about 20 million cubic meters, with a wall 50 meters high. For comparison, the Studena Dam near Pernik has a capacity of about 25 million cubic meters.
The facilities covered by the permit include the dam wall and its adjacent facilities, the drinking water treatment plant, including pumping stations and a water pipeline from the treatment plant to the "high zone" reservoir, a service building in the dam area, a water pipeline from the station to the "low zone" reservoir in the Panagyurishte area.
The construction of the Luda Yana dam was initially financed by the Municipal Infrastructure Development Project with BGN 56.3 million including VAT – 80% borrowed from the World Bank and 20% co-financed from the state budget. However, in recent years, tens of millions have been allocated every year to complete the work, and even in the 2026 budget, BGN 10 million was earmarked. In recent years, however, tens of millions have been allocated each year to complete the work, and even the 2026 budget included BGN 10 million.
The construction was awarded to the Strabag-Stanilov consortium, with partners Strabag, registered in Austria, and the Bulgarian company Stanilov EOOD. According to the company's website, the construction company GP Group is also working on the project.
Initially, a deadline of 900 days (two and a half years) was set, with construction of all sub-projects expected to be completed by March 2019. Things obviously did not go according to the plans of the GERB governments at the time.
The facility will supply water to the town of Panagyurishte and the villages of Oborishte, Poibrene, Popintsi, Banya, Bata, Levski, and Elshitsa.
Translated with DeepL.
