07.02.2020.
HRK 287 million from EU funds have been secured, and the grant agreement for the construction of the Waste Management Centre Lučino Razdolje in Dubrovnik-Neretva County has been signed today in Dubrovnik by the minister of energy and environment Tomislav Ćorić, the director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund Siniša Kukić, and the director of the Waste Management Agency, Josip Bačić.
“This arrangement was initiated because it is the right direction we have plotted out in the Waste Management Plan of the Republic of Croatia. It is clear that some people will oppose projects like this, but every waste management system, especially in the first decade of its operation, and during its planning phase, will face challenges it has to tackle. The same situation is repeated around the world, but we want to follow well-regulated global economies and their waste management systems,” said Minister Ćorić.
Siniša Kukić, the director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, said that the preparation of the project took a long time, but it was a process that all similar projects had to undergo. “We should try and speed up to the maximum the following phases of the project, so that its implementation could unfold faster than the foreseen construction schedule,” said Director Kukić. In order to wrap up the financial framework of the overall project, in the upcoming period the Fund will provide additional 81 million kunas. In the professional aspect, the County will have at their disposal Intermediate body level 2 of the Fund to follow and control all phases of implementation, as well as the Sector for EU Funds, which has been actively cooperating with the Waste Management Agency in project preparation.
Nikola Dobroslavić, the mayor of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, pointed out that the centre was the central and vital project for the overall waste management system in the county. “I would like to thank the Ministry of Energy and Environment, which helped to return this project on the right track after some rambling in the past. I would also like to thank the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, which participated in all phases of the project, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, all others who participate in the realisation of the project, and first and foremost, I’d like to thank the director of the Waste Management Agency, who put in a lot of work,” said county mayor, adding that he hoped there would be no delays due to complaints in the public procurement procedure.
The director of the Waste Management Agency, Josip Bačić, said that this day marked the achievement that was also recognised by the EU. “After years of comprehensive works on the required design and technical documentation for the construction of the centre and six transfer stations, and after obtaining different permits in the exhaustive preparatory phase, the implementation of the project is finally starting,” said Bačić.
Waste Management Centre Lučino Razdolje is a strategic project aimed at organised, economy-oriented and integrated waste management system in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It total, the project is worth HRK 494 million, with eligible cots amounting to HRK 408.7 million. 70.18% of eligible project costs has been secured under the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014 – 2020, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund will provide 19.82%, and Dubrovnik-Neretva County 10% of resources.
Along with the centre itself, the project includes the construction of six transfer stations: in Dubrovnik, Metković, Janjina, and on the islands of Mljet, Lastovo and Korčula. Completion of the project is expected by the end of 2022.
