The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense will receive BGN 10 M from the country's government for the refashioning and completion of the National Army Complex in downtown Sofia.

The money will be allocated for the completion of two parts of the grand project – a conference hall and a hotel complex.

Thus, the Bulgarian centrist-right GERB Cabinet moves to turn the National Army Complex into an administrative building to be owned jointly by the Ministries of Defense and Justice. The government was ready to provide the money for the refashioning in 2010, but it was fiscally not possible.

The National Army Complex project ran into disrepute as since 2008-2009 the Defense Ministry ran out of funds for its construction. Though not fully completed, it was put on sale for BGN 100 M by former Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev in 2008 but no investors showed any interest.

Preliminary estimates of the government state that the future administrative building should be fit to host the National Registry Agency, the Sofia District Administrative Court, the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office, and the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office, while the giant conference hall can be used by the Defense and Justice Ministries.

The National Army Complex is located at 23 Skobelev Blvd in Sofia on an area of 1.4 hectares on the spot of the former Military History Museum. In addition to a luxury hotel complex, a movie theater with 2 800 seats.

The construction of the National Army Complex has come under much criticism in the Bulgarian media since its inception in 2004-2006 with critics arguing that the Bulgarian Army and Defense Ministry do not need such a costly and enormous project.

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