UniCredit BulBank Chief Economist Kristofor Pavlov noted at a recent forum that Bulgaria’s economy is on track to hit a high point of 4 percent GDP growth in 2018.

Pavlov told the forum, titled "The Sound of Money," that while Bulgaria’s economic recovery is not quite at the level of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, its growth is balanced and not built on account deficit and indebtedness, according to a release from the bank. Despite facing snap parliamentary elections in March, Bulgaria’s economy has had a strong start to 2017, growing by 3.4 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous year.

“The expectations of the business and households for April and May are close to the highest values observed after the crisis in 2008 and indicate that the economic activity will gain momentum in the second quarter,” Pavlov said.

He noted that tourism and infrastructure construction will push growth in the second half of this year, as the tourism sector is continuing its trend of serious growth, which began with last year’s results. Pavlov said he thinks that infrastructure will boost growth as the sector overcomes delays in European Union-funded projects.