Contracts worth HRK 11.3 bn signed for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, says PM

The tenth session of the government's Council for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem started in the eastern town of Vukovar on Monday, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who said that by November 30, contracts were signed for projects worth 11.3 billion kuna or 60.4% of the 18.7 billion envisaged for the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project.

PM Plenkovic recalled that respecting the status of Vukovar as a symbol of the 1991-95 Homeland War, the government sent to parliament for consideration a bill declaring that town a place of special respect and a bill on the transfer of founder's rights over the Vukovar County Hospital, dedicated to war veterans, which would become a national memorial hospital.

"We have been in touch with the European Commission regarding a law on Vukovar's development, which is expected to be assessed positively by the EC owing to the system of permissible state grants. I think that we made good progress during the term of the Jean-Paul Juncker Commission, and we now have to seek in the new Commission the level of understanding that will enable the adoption of a law enabling even greater investments in Vukovar," said Plenkovic.

He went on to say that by November 30, contracts were signed for HRK 11.3 billion or 60.4% of the 18.7 billion envisaged for the Slavonia, Baranja and  Srijem project, and that payments worth HRK 4.5 billion or 24% of grants had been made.

Five billion kuna has been directed towards a rural development programme, significant funds have been invested in 109 community health centres, 531 business initiatives and seven projects of cultural and natural heritage, with the value of development agreements standing currently at one billion kuna, he said.

"As part of integrated territorial investments for urban areas, for example Osijek and Slavonski Brod, contracts have been signed for projects worth HRK 187.3 million, and 10.5 million of an allocation of 421 million has been paid. We are continuing to invite applications and seven more tenders worth HRK 77 million will be published by the start of 2020," Plenkovic said, adding that the results he was referring to proved that it had been right to launch the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project.

Attending the session of the Council for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem were six government ministers, who were expected to present their reports, as well as Vukovar-Srijem County head Bozo Galic and Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava, with whom Plenkovic met before the session of the Council.

Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project enjoys WB, EC support, says minister

Speaking about the achievements of the government's Council for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, Regional Development Minister Marko Pavic said in Vukovar on Monday that the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project enjoyed the great support of the World Bank and the European Commission, which considered it a unique regional project chaired by a prime minister.

"By November 30 we signed contracts for projects worth a total of HRK 11.3 billion and before the last (Council) session, the amount stood at HRK 10.6 billion, so the value of the contracts signed has increased by slightly more than HRK 600 million," Pavic said, stressing that after today's session of the Council contracts worth HRK 690 million would be signed, of which around 500 million referred directly to the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project.

He went on to say that Slavonia had become a big construction site, with 20 hospitals under construction and 109 community health centres being equipped, with support provided to 531 business initiatives and 37 projects of cultural and natural heritage.

"European funds are changing Croatia and Slavonia, we are building with the help of the Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme, employing through the Efficient Human Resources Programme and developing agriculture through the Rural Development Programme," Pavic said, adding that contracts had been signed for 1,088 projects worth HRK 5.8 billion, from the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme.

Pavic informed members of the Council of a proposal to start making a territorial strategy for the regions of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, a process to be led by the Council for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem and supported by the World Bank and the Regional Development Ministry and an inter-departmental group for the implementation of that project.

The Council is expected to start making the territorial strategy in January and the strategy will become a part of the national strategy.

Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic said that contracts for projects worth HRK 5.2 billion had been signed so far, with 4.2 billion being grants.

"Payments worth 2.6 billion have already been made," she said, adding that money for rural development had also been used by 540 young farmers. As regards support for small family farms and startups, contracts for more than 1,130 projects worth HRK 126 million have been signed.

"Several new tenders have been published, several are being prepared, 100 million for beef cattle breeding, an additional 100 million for renewable energy sources, 50 million for manure management," Vuckovic said, among other things.

Speaking at an event dedicated to honey making before the session of the Council, she said that brighter days were coming for Croatian honey producers.

"In the last few years a significant increase in honey imports was recorded, but in the first six months of this year, imports dropped by 57%," she said, adding that her ministry's measures had contributed to that as well.

HRK 114 mn contracted for projects in Vukovar, says economy minister

Economy Minister Darko Horvat said on Monday that HRK 114 million had been contracted to date in grants for projects by private entrepreneurs and institutions in the eastern town of Vukovar and Vukovar-Srijem County and that more projects were in the pipeline.

Speaking to the press in Vukovar after a meeting of the Council for Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, Horvat said a HRK 634 million tender had been advertised for new and innovative ideas and that an IRI 2 tender worth HRK 770 million would be advertised this week or the next.

There will also be a tender for linking micro, small and medium enterprises with big companies for which HRK 100 million has been earmarked, and HRK 300 million has been earmarked for industry, which will facilitate the integration of new technologies in Croatia, Horvat said.

Asked about the situation in the ailing Djuro Djakovic company, he said there would be no bankruptcy and that workers would get their wages for October this week. "We are trying to secure interim financing, which will not be a classic loan, so that active contracts can be fulfilled. We will use the money from those contracts to return the loan and the rest would be for Djuro Djakovic's solvency."

Horvat went on to say that the Vukovar mayor made no criticism of the government at today's meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the ministers. "We had a very constructive meeting which discussed a new project and investment worth €30 million to convert Vukovar's Lav hotel into a new hotel, one in a chain of six currently under construction."

Text: Hina

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