The most modern sports and recreational facility in Stara Zagora region, fully financed by AES, open doors for public

Октомври 28, 2016

Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and the sports legend Yordan Yovchev cut the ribbon of the Youth Center in Galabovo

The most modern sports and recreational facility in Stara Zagora region – the fully renovated Youth Center in the town of Galabovo, was officially unveiled to the public today at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova, Deputy Minister of Energy Nikolay Nikolov, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Martina Strong and the regional Governor eng. Georgi Ranov. Special guest of the event was the Bulgarian sports legend Yordan Yovchev.

The full renovation of the facility, sponsored entirely by AES Bulgaria, took 18 months. 2,2 million euro were invested in the project. The Center is located in an area of over 45 acres in the park of Galabovo. The rehabilitation project, included complete renovation of the existing building, as well as construction of new facilities for sports and recreation.  The enhancement and landscaping of the surrounding area was also part of the concept and has completely changed the general outlook of the facility, turning it into a beautiful park. Now the Youth Center complex offers a big sports hall, halls for traditional dances and rhythmic gymnastics, computer hall, indoor and outdoor fitness facilities, a playground, covered outdoor concert stage and a nice park.

For our municipality it was impossible to spend more than 2 million euro to build a Youth Centre and the park in the way you see them now. Therefore, I would like to say “A huge thank you!” to AES Bulgaria, said the mayor of Galabovo Nikolay Tonev.

The youth center, that opened today, is a result of a very good cooperation between the municipality of Galabovo and AES Bulgaria, and it will undoubtedly improve the quality of people’s life in the region, said Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova. I am glad that AES is not only a company that is a major part of the electricity system of the country but also successfully implements its program for corporate social responsibility, she added.

Today we celebrate not only the opening of this beautiful building and the park, but also the realization of an idea, achieved with hard work and partnership, said Deputy US Ambassador Martina Strong. This is an example of cooperation between the US and Bulgaria at different levels, allowing the realization of many similar projects, said Strong and greeted AES for everything that has made the company not only as an employer but also as a responsible corporate citizen.

“The renovation of this Youth Center shows consistency in AES Bulgaria CSR efforts, as well as further development of our relations with the Municipality. This project is not just a big amount of money spent for reconstruction of a building – it is something that has an impact way beyond the day-to-day and is a legacy for the young generation” Olivier Marquette, Executive director of the company said.

Operating one of the most modern and clean thermal power plants in Bulgaria and the region makes AES proud and shows the commitment of our company to bring world-class technologies in all markets we are serving. During five years of commercial operation TPP AES Galabovo produced 16.6 TWh of electricity, providing safe, clean and reliable energy to the Bulgarian market. The newly opened Youth Center is one more proof  that we are working for the improvement of the lives of our customers and their communities, Roger Casement, COO for AES Europe said.

After the ribbon cutting the guests made a tour around the facility and the surrounding park. A special surprise for them was the performance of the most popular professional gymnastic sportsman in Bulgaria Yordan Yovchev who made a spectacular demonstration at the outdoor fitness facility.

I believe the Youth Centre will become a wonderful place for culture, sport and recreation. And maybe Galabovo will rise next sports star on Bulgaria, said the world champion in gymnastics.

 

 

The reconstruction of the Youth Center is the largest public-private partnership in the region. The project is a major part of the CSR program of AES Bulgaria, which had already invested more than 6.8 million euros in the Galabovo area so far.