Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast is on its way to becoming a Monte Carlo of the Balkans. As it is a matter of prestige to have a house in Monaco world celebrities are buying estates in Bulgarian resorts and complexes on a mass scale. One of the most famous investors is Eddie Jordan, former owner of a Formula 1 team. "The famous Irishmen bought his estate through a prestigious English fund," said Kristian Saraliev, Chief Architect of the municipality of Biala (northeast Bulgaria).

One of the best-known architects in the world - Norman Foster, designer of the London City Hall was hired for the project. He is also winner of the Sterling Prize for one of his other projects - the London Sky Scraper nicknamed the Gherkin because of its unusual shape. His project in Bulgaria is still kept secret but it will probably be something eccentric, say well-informed sources.

Yurii Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow, has also decided to invest in Bulgaria. He plans to build a huge holiday village with an outdoor track and an Olympic size stadium.

Other famous investors include Fernando Roig Alfonso owner of the Spanish football club Villarreal who plans to erect a modern port for yachts and a luxury holiday village with little hotels, family houses, expensive restaurants and bars, swimming pools and tennis courts. The total cost of the project is estimated at 100 million euro. Roig also plans to invest in the construction of a golf course worth between 8 and 10 million euro. According to the plans the construction has to start every moment now and will be completed in three years.