Today, the eighth meeting of the Supervisory Board for Monitoring and Implementation of ISPA Measures was held in Karlovac. It was led by Karlovac Mayor Damir Jelić and the Director of the Central Agency for Financing and Contracting of EU Programs and Projects, Marija Tufekčić, along with numerous expert participants involved in the implementation.
– In Croatia, the implementation of six ISPA projects is underway, with a total value of 107.5 million euros, of which as much as 59 million euros is non-repayable. The three main projects are infrastructural: the reconstruction of the railway line Vinkovci – Tovarnik – state border worth 60 million euros as part of Corridor 10, the reconstruction of the water supply system and the construction of the drainage system and wastewater treatment plant in Karlovac worth 36 million euros, and the construction of the regional waste management center Bikarac in Šibenik-Knin County worth 8.8 million euros – said Marija Tufekčić.
Although the contracting of all jobs on these projects took a long time, Tufekčić emphasized that the current level of contracted jobs at 95.77 percent is a very high percentage that instills hope for the effective implementation of the projects and their completion within the set deadlines. Although each project will have a long-term significant impact not only at the local level but also at the national level, Tufekčić added that the successful implementation of these projects and the acquired knowledge and experience are extremely important as a guarantee of the ability to use funds from structural and cohesion funds that will be available to Croatia after its accession to the EU. The conference was also attended by Elena Grech, Head of the Croatia Department in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Spatial Planning and Construction Nikola Ružinski, and State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management Hrvoje Dolenec. (Mladen Volarić)
