Citizens of Burgas, Bulgaria's fourth-largest city, hit the streets on Sunday in protest against the controversial oil pipeline that will pass through their municipality as agreed during the visit of the Russian president.

"Our rulers sold Bulgaria", "Don't turn Burgas into a second Chernobyl," read the posters of the protestors, who even staged an auction and sold parts of the pipeline that will run between Burgas and Alexandroupolis.

The city hall decided at the end of last year to hold the referendum on February 17, allocating a total BGN 70 000 to that end.

To be acknowledged as valid, at least 51% of eligible voters in the Burgas municipality have to take part in it, but it remains unclear how its outcome can influence the plans to build the pipeline.

Meanwhile Socialist President Georgi Parvanov played down the protests and made it clear that the fate of the project is not in jeopardy even if local referendums go against it.

"Plans for constructing the oil pipeline have been part of the policy of several consecutive governments," President Parvanov said as he made a review of his first year in office since re-election on Sunday.

"There is one purely technical issue as far as the referendum is concerned. You just can't decide issues of national significance via local referenda," he added.

The president tried to assuage the environmental concerns of the local, saying every care will be taken to insure the pipeline does not pose a threat to their health.

Bulgaria, Greece and Russia agreed to build the pipeline between Burgas and Alexandroupolis, taking Caspian oil to the Mediterranean skirting the congested Bosphorus, earlier this year after more than a decade of intermittent talks.

Municipalities neighbouring with Burgas are also harbouring fears that the pipeline could damage their lucrative tourism business, while environmental NGOs have branded the existing plans to build an oil terminal out at sea a disaster waiting to happen.

The 280-kilometre pipeline, with 166 kilometres passing through Bulgaria, would have an initial annual capacity of 35 million tonnes, which could be later expanded to 50 million tonnes. Its costs are estimated at up to USD 900 M.

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