Hrebak: I have banned all projects that are fully funded from the city budget

Money from European funds has enabled cities to experience a true investment renaissance, but some have missed that train, and necessary investments in municipal infrastructure, primarily in wastewater treatment, will have to be financed through loans. At the first Lider Financial and Investment Forum held in Zagreb on Thursday, there was discussion about investments that cities have embarked upon. The city of Bjelovar is currently experiencing a real investment boom, which, according to Mayor Dario Hrebak, is preparing investments worth a total of 200 million euros. Of that, 60 to 70 percent will be financed with European money.

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Dario Hrebak, Mayor of Bjelovar

photo Ratko Mavar

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As Hrebak stated, why invest taxpayers’ money when, for example, the entire water supply and sewage network can be renewed with European funds with only three percent participation from local self-government. – I would be foolish to initiate investments that are fully financed from the city budget just for the sake of populism, such as building sidewalks and roads that lead nowhere. Therefore, I have banned all projects that are entirely funded with taxpayers’ money, said Hrebak.

One of the major investments expected by the city is the Bjelovar Spa, which will be built after the discovery of geothermal water at a temperature of 82 degrees Celsius earlier this year. This is an investment worth 40 million euros, and Hrebak announced at the Lider panel that a tender for the contractor for the Bjelovar Spa will be announced in a few days. In addition, a new elementary school will be built in Bjelovar, which will completely transition to single-shift teaching, added the city’s top official.

Jastrebarsko is the first city to have fully completed the renewal of municipal infrastructure and has also reached the third level of wastewater treatment, which many Croatian cities are still lagging behind, emphasized Mayor Zvonimir Novosel. Among other projects, Novosel highlighted the renovation of the Erdödy Castle worth 25 million euros, but this project has not gone smoothly due to, as he says, the slowness of the state administration.

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Zvonimir Novosel, Mayor of Jastrebarsko

photo Ratko Mavar

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Novosel also revealed that the city has obtained building permits for the construction of new roads, which will be a prerequisite for the construction of 250 new apartments, given that Jastrebarsko is becoming increasingly attractive for relocation. – We are also developing rural public transport. It will be based on electric vehicles, buses, and vans, the procurement of which will be financed from European funds. We are considering that transport would be free for the first two years, said Novosel.

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Siniša Kesić, Deputy Mayor of Novska

photo Ratko Mavar

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The city administration of Novska did not have the capacity to attract European money for all the projects it wanted to implement, so they have started establishing their own development agency, said Deputy Mayor Siniša Kesić. Among the projects implemented in Novska, Kesić highlighted a 15 million euro project for agglomeration, a day center for the elderly, the completion of one kindergarten, and the construction of another is about to begin. – In the entrepreneurial incubator PISMO, the gaming industry is developing, and a contract worth 26 million euros has been signed for the construction of a gaming campus, concluded Kesić.