Sofia chief architect Petar Dikov will head the jury in the competition for the new museum complex in the capital Sofia, known as the Bulgarian Louvre, it emerged on Thursday.

The winner in the tender, which drew 31 projects from the country and abroad, will be announced at the end of August.

“Bulgaria deserves to have such a prestigious museum,” said Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov. “This museum is a must for the image and prestige of the whole country, not only the artists.”

The cost of the museum will be known after the working project is ready, but initial estimates show that BGN 15 M will be needed only for the first stage of the construction works.

The decision to build the new cultural complex, which is located in the very heart of the capital Sofia, adjacent to the “Alexander Nevski” Cathedral, was made at the end of 2009, while in mid-April, Bulgarian state leaders broke ground of the construction site.

The government is investing BGN 20 M in the museum, joining together the building of the National Gallery for Foreign Art, and an old building formerly used by the Sofia Technical University. Some BGN 2.5 M of the funds for the reconstruction and construction will come from the EU Regional Development Operational Program.

In December, Culture Minister, Vezhdi Rashidov, said the 24 000 square-meter museum will be designed as project of architect, Vladislav Nikolov, approved by the former socialist-led cabinet for BGN 1.8 M financing under the EU Operational Program. Later however the Culture Ministry explained the Public Tender Act requires a competition and that Nikolov can participate if he wishes.

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