The Energana Project is Key to the Future Economic Development of Rijeka

For the third consecutive year, the City of Rijeka has been awarded the ‘Smart Cities’ award by Jutarnji list and the portal gradonačelnik.hr in the competition of large cities. Numerous smart projects being implemented in Rijeka support this, demonstrating that the future of smart cities largely depends on digital transformation. For example, the project Energana, a future startup incubator for creative technologies and the IT industry, is one of the most significant capital projects in Rijeka and a key component of the future economic development of Rijeka. The Energana project, for which 31.47 million kuna in non-repayable funds has been secured from the EU, along with an additional 2.78 million kuna from the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds competition, will enable further development of smart technologies.

The City of Rijeka has thus recognized the need for the development and research of smart technologies in order to increase the competitiveness of the economy and the quality of life for its citizens. Rijeka’s Mayor Marko Filipović emphasizes that the strategic approach and concept of a smart city are integral parts of the City of Rijeka’s Development Plan from 2021 to 2027.

– Of course, in this segment of development, the necessity of cooperation between the City of Rijeka and the University of Rijeka, as well as with the economic sector, has been recognized, with the aim of further encouraging innovation and investment in development, the competitiveness of the economy, and certainly, the local ICT industry – says Filipović.

In Rijeka, a consortium has been gathered to establish an innovation cluster – the Competence Center (CEKOM) for smart cities, valued at 149.6 million kuna, of which 95.4 million kuna is co-financed by the European Union. As the holder of this innovation cluster, the company Smart Ri has been established, owned by the City of Rijeka, and appears in the consortium as the project applicant.

– The intention is for CEKOM, Smart Ri, and thus the City of Rijeka, to become a testing and demonstration center for smart technologies, as pilot projects of smart solutions for city management and urban infrastructure will be implemented precisely in Rijeka. This largest development project in Croatia in the field of information and communication solutions is aimed at improving the quality of life for citizens – added Filipović, who will speak more about the smart projects of the City of Rijeka at the Lider Smart Cities conference during the panel discussion ‘Innovations for Sustainable Cities’.

The conference will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2022., live at the Zagreb Fair, where the leaders of Croatian cities will present new projects, open competitions, and future plans. Join us at the conference with prior registration.