On 23 September 2026, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vratsa (CCI Vratsa) organised a final conference for the project “Reindustrialisation Following the Brownfield is Better than Greenfield Principle” (ReInd-BBG), funded by the Interreg Danube Region Programme 2021-2027. This was the last event organised by CCI Vratsa as a project partner before the project concludes on 30 September 2026.
The conference brought together representatives of businesses, local authorities, regional experts and the media. Participants discussed how abandoned and underused industrial sites can become spaces for new economic activity while reducing the need to develop previously undeveloped land.
The CCI Vratsa team presented the main results of nearly three years of transnational cooperation and explored the role of brownfields in the context of the Territorial Agenda 2030 and EU policies. The conference also shared experiences from six pilot sites in Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania.
Particular attention was given to the Bulgarian pilot site, the Students’ City in Vratsa. The team presented the plan developed to transform it into a Centre for Energy Development and New Science (CEDNS). The plan shows how an unused site could take on a new role in the region’s development.
One of the ReInd-BBG results is a “Roadmap for Brownfield Reindustrialisation in the Danube Region”. It sets out practical steps for assessing sites, engaging stakeholders, planning and attracting investment. Drawing on the experience of the six pilot sites, the roadmap can continue to support municipalities and regions after the project ends.
Through the final conference, CCI Vratsa reflected on its work under ReInd-BBG and highlighted the next step: putting the approaches developed by the project to use in future development plans for Vratsa and other areas of the Danube Region.
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