As part of the Project for Social and Economic Recovery of Areas of Special State Concern (PSGO), the Croatian Government has allocated 60 million euros in non-repayable funds from a World Bank loan over the last five years across 13 Croatian counties, writes slobodnadalmacija.hr.
The funds have been distributed for various projects to companies, crafts, cooperatives, local government units, and public institutions. In Region 1 alone, which includes four Dalmatian counties affected by war and Lika, 153 projects have been financed, of which as many as 80 were realized in the areas of Zadar and Šibenik-Knin counties. – In the Zadar area, we financed 41 projects, and 40 in the Šibenik-Knin county area.
The implementation of the entire program is nearing completion, and all planned funds have been successfully allocated, says Marica Babić, coordinator of Region 1 at the Ministry of Regional Development, Water Management, and Forestry, based in Zadar. The total amount of non-repayable funds in the Zadar area amounts to 18 million kuna, and together with projects from Šibenik, around 32 million kuna.
Since the total value of subsidized projects is significantly higher, the total amount of allocated funds is approximately 80 million kuna. The maximum grant amount per individual project was 972 thousand kuna, or 27 percent of the total investment. The mandatory contribution from the grant applicants was ten percent, and for the remainder of the financing, they were offered loans from HBOR under favorable conditions: an interest rate of four percent, or two percent for exporters, with a repayment grace period of three years. (www.slobodnadalmacija.hr)
