The "Emirates Investment Company" will invest in the construction of a congress center and luxury hotel in the Bulgarian capital, said the company's owner, sheik Tarek Al Qassimi after the conclusion of his meeting with Sofia's mayor Boiko Borissov.

Sheik Al Qassimi who is member of the royal family in the Sharjah emirate of the United Arab Emirates is on a visit in Bulgaria with the goal of investigating possibilities for jointly funded public-private projects.

The "Emirates" group invests in luxury real estate, insurance and airplane construction. According to Borissov they are interested in the same activities in Bulgaria.

"In the upcoming months and years, especially in Sofia's northern areas, since I am convinced that "Kremikovtzi" is not going to exist in its current condition, a huge possibility for public-private partnership is going to present itself along with the extension of the metro lines in this direction, and we will be looking for investors of the class of the "Emirates", stated Sofia's mayor.

According to the sheik, the precise investment intentions of his company will become clear in a month with their amounts depending on the projects themselves. He cited the fact that the profitability of investments in Bulgaria is the highest on the Balkans as a reason for the company's interest here.