10.05.2021.
The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund approved the amount of almost 2 million kunas to the County Public Institution Priroda for co-financing the 2nd phase of the project of valorisation of the Šibenik Channel (St. Anthony’s Channel). Siniša Kukić, the director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund and his associates, visited Šibenik-Knin County to mark this occasion.The co-financing agreement was signed in Minerska Bay, where the press conference was held, with the County mayor Goran Pauk and the director of the Public Institution of Šibenik-Knin County Priroda, Anita Babačić Ajduk.
“The St. Anthony’s Channel valorisation project is worth in total 26.5 million kunas and it is partly co-financed from EU funds, and in part from the national component provided by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund and County. The Fund will participate in the project with almost HRK 2 million that will be used to reconstruct the visitors’ centre building, and to develop informational and educational content,” said Siniša Kukić, the director of the Fund, upon the signing of the contract.
"Efforts to valorise this area that is very important for the entire County started in 2013, when the promenade and the wooden bridge were built, and which in the meantime became one of Šibenik’s tourist attractions. Signposts and workout equipment were installed, the children’s playground and the beach were also developed. We are recording more than 100 thousand visits to this site per year. The project itself was one of the most successful local EU projects in Croatia in the 2012-2014 period,” said Goran Pauk, the County mayor.
In the meantime, the project “Tourism valorisation of St. Nicholas’ Fortress in the Channel of St. Anthony” was implemented. Under this project the entire documentation was developed, and all preconditions were met to be granted the funding for a complete and final renovation of the fort as an essential part of this exceptional landscape and world cultural heritage. With major efforts and joint work, today the entire area has a clearly defined management and protection structure that warrants long-term sustainable development of this area, and its importance at local, state and international level.
“The project is aimed at preserving the biological and landscape diversity, developing new educational capacities, and improving tourism and economic potential of the important Channel-Port landscape, and the ecological network Natura 2000 the mouth of the River Krka through improvement, equipping, and content creation for the visitor centre in Minerska Bay, to contribute to sustainable social and economic development at local and regional levels,” said Anita Babačić Ajduk, the director of the Public Institution Priroda.
In conclusion, Director of the Fund Fonda Siniša Kukić pointed out that in the process of planning, the sector of tourism that wished to be sustainable and successful in the long-term had to take into account the principles of sustainable development and responsible tourism. "This is exactly the type of tourism that is being developed in this County, as corroborated by the valorisation project of Šibenik’s St. Anthony’s Channel, and by many other projects you have successfully implemented so far,” said Director Kukić. As part of the tour to Šibenik-Knin County, the representatives of the Fund paid a visit to St. Nicholas Fortress and discussed the future plans for the improvement of the Šibenik Channel. They also visited the Waste Management Centre Bikarac, where the construction works are proceeding according to schedule and it is expected they will be completed until September this year.
