KOZLODUY MUNICIPALITY

Located in northwestern Bulgaria, in the Danube Plain, on the banks of the Danube River, the municipality of Kozloduy includes one city - Kozloduy, and four villages - Kharlets, Glozhene, Butan and Kriva bara. With its area of 284,874 km2, the municipality of Kozloduy occupies 7.9% of the territory of the Vratsa Region and is the seventh largest among the 10 municipalities in the region.

The terrain of the municipality is flat. The main water artery is the Danube River, which runs for 21 km (from km 687 to km 708) within the municipality. The eastern, lowest part of the Kozloduy lowland is furrowed by numerous irrigation canals, built to irrigate agricultural lands, and along the border with the municipality of Mizia passes the lowest course of the Ogosta River.

The region has traditions in the development of electricity generation and agriculture. It has a well-built infrastructure and communications, highly qualified workforce.

3 roads from the republican road network of Bulgaria, with a total length of 40 km, partially pass through the municipality.

In the town of Kozloduy, there are four schools - two secondary and one primary, as well as the "Igor Kurchatov" Nuclear Energy Vocational High School.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

The first historical records of a local settlement are from Thracian times - the first millennium BC, and the first written record of the existence of a village with a similar name (Koidozlu village) is from the 15th century. In the 18th century, the settlement was marked as Kotozluk and Kozludere (low valley), and later - Kozloduy (corner of the ice).

Historical area "Botev Park" on the territory of the municipality is Protected area "Kozloduy" with an area of 10 ha. The park is located near the place where, in May 1876, Hristo Botev and his company disembarked from the steamer "Radetsky", kissed their native land and took the road to the Vrachan Balkan and to immortality. Today, the park combines both objects of historical value and numerous opportunities for recreation in the organized eco-trails and places for rest and bird watching, fishing, and on the traditional Botevi days it is also the center of numerous events. In the memorial complex on the territory of the park, the National Steamship Museum "Radetsky" stands out - the only floating museum ship on the Balkan Peninsula and one of the 100 national tourist sites in Bulgaria.

From the Botevian Park, a marked road leads to the Asparukhov Val (Ditch) from the time of Danube Bulgaria, built at the end of the 7th century and 32 km long, and its highest preserved height is 2.60 m.

POPULATION

According to the latest population census (2021), just over 18,000 people live in Kozloduy municipality - mainly Bulgarians, but there are also Vlachs, Roma, Russians, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Turks, etc. The municipality is in second place in terms of population in the district after Vratsa, and after Kozloduy are Byala Slatina and Mezdra. Between the last two censuses (2011 and 2021), it has decreased by 14.9%.

Source: NSI

67.6% of the population is of working age, and the share of adults (65+) is 16.4%. The employment rate (15-64 years) is 57.9%, and the share of the economically inactive population (15-64 years) is 30.5%. Unemployment is relatively high – 9%.

47% of the population has a secondary education, 25.5% - a higher education, 27.4% - a primary education or lower, and 1.3% are illiterate. The average grade from the matriculation exams in Bulgarian language and literature is 3.48, in English – 5.29, and in mathematics – 3.59.

Almost 71% of the employed are engaged in the public sector, in which the average gross salary is BGN 2,951/month.

The population of Kozloduy is mainly employed in the NPP, as well as in the State Enterprise "Radioactive Waste", and the average salary in the municipality (BGN 2431/month) is the second highest in Bulgaria.

Daily labor migrants from other municipalities are 31.7% - over 2,600 residents of other municipalities travel every day to work in Kozloduy municipality.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Kozloduy Municipality has been awarded a long-term credit rating of BBB-perspective - stable and a short-term rating of A-3. The five settlements in the municipality have well-developed infrastructure, communications and transport connections. An education and qualification network is in place, ensuring the availability of a highly skilled workforce. The region offers opportunities for developing a knowledge economy, but also for ecological agriculture.

504 companies operate on the territory of the municipality. The costs for acquiring DMA are BGN 82 million (BGN 4,506/capita).

ENERGY

The economic profile of the region is largely determined by the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the construction of which began in 1969, and its first reactor unit was officially opened on September 4, 1974. It was then gradually expanded with more five units to reach a maximum installed capacity of 3,760 MW. In 2004 - 2006, the first four units were shut down and two units with an installed capacity of 1000 MW remain in operation. The plant also has two repositories for the storage of spent nuclear fuel.

Kozloduy NPP is the largest producer of electrical energy in Bulgaria, providing more than a third of the national annual electricity production. The plant is owned by the Bulgarian Energy Holding and has been an independent joint-stock company in the NEK system since April 2000. In 2022, Unit 5 of the NPP produced electricity (gross) in the amount of 8,457,881 MWh, and Unit 6 produced EE ( gross) in the amount of 8,004,137 MWh, or a total of about 16.5 million MWh.

As of December 31, 2022, the number of NPP personnel listed in labor relations is 3,694, of which 1,171 are women. The largest number of personnel is in the age range of 50 to 60 years − 37%, followed by those between 40 and 50 years − 29%. The relative share of staff with higher and secondary professional education is 89%, and staff with primary education is less than 1%. The headquarters is equipped with a special Training Center, which is used for initial and maintenance training of the staff.