The Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) announced the procedure through direct award of grants "Measures for improving the quality of the air" totaling BGN 111,442,101.58. The money is under the Operational Program "Environment 2014-2020" and the beneficiaries of the procedure are Burgas, Vidin, Dimitrovgrad, Montana, Plovdiv, Smolyan and Sofia Municipality, the press center of the Ministry of the Environment announced.

According to the Executive Environment Agency, the highest air pollution in the last week has been reported in these cities. With the money, municipalities will have to reduce the overpriced levels of fine particulate matter (PM10) from domestic heating. "At the same time, the funding will contribute to the fulfillment of the country's commitments regarding the EU Court of Justice's conviction for non-compliance with PM 10 content in the atmospheric air," the MOEW message said.

The measures to be co-financed are the replacement of wood and coal heaters with gas, electricity, pellet heating or a connection to a district heating or gas distribution network.

"As a final alternative (when all other options are inapplicable or exhausted), it is permissible to replace the old stoves with modern wood or coal appliances that meet the ecodesign technical parameters," the report said.

The maximum duration for the implementation of the project activities is 4 years and a half. More information and the full set of documents in the procedure can be found here.