08.10.2020.
The Grant Agreement for 313.7m from EU funds was signed today in Koprivnica, for the project of the Regional Waste Management Centre Piškornica. This has created the preconditions for the construction of the centre where the waste from Koprivnica-Križevci, Varaždin, Međimurje and Krapina-Zagorje Counties will be disposed of, and it will have the capacity to treat around 100,000 tonnes of residual waste.
The agreement was signed by the minister of economy and sustainable development, Tomislav Ćorić, PhD, the director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Siniša Kukić, and the director of the company Piškornica, Mladen Ružman. The overall value of the project is HRK 448.2 million, of which 69.9% is secured from EU funds, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund will provide 20%, while the remaining 10% will be provided by the four counties and Municipality Koprivnički Ivanec, where the centre is located.
“The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund has been included in the project for the construction of the regional Waste Management Centre Piškornica from the very beginning. So far we have provided HRK 12 million for the purpose of application for EU funding and the purchase of land. Along with the resources secured from EU funding, the Fund will provide an additional HRK 89.7m in the upcoming period, in order to complete the financial construction for this strategic project,” said Director of the Fund Siniša Kukić.
The minister of economy and sustainable development, Tomislav Ćorić, PhD, pointed out that this was an extremely important project for the four counties in the north-western part of Croatia. He said that the units of local self-government had to put in additional efforts regarding waste separation. “We are all responsible for making the waste management system efficient. We ended 2019 with a 6% increase in waste separation compared to 2018. This rate of progress has not yet been recorded in Croatia, and even at EU level results like these are rare. This shows that if we all work together and make an effort, results will come,” said Minister Ćorić.
The director of RWMC Piškornica, Mr. Ružman, explained that this agreement sets out the key points of the project, such as design and construction, purchase of mobile equipment, supervision of the works on RWMC Piškornica, construction and equipment of the two transfer stations, project management, and project promotion and visibility. He said that RWMC Piškornica was not a separate infrastructural project, but part of an integrated waste management system for the entire North-West Croatia, and its functioning and efficiency will be affected by the factors that, in waste hierarchy, come before everything – the citizens, units of local self-government, and utility companies, as well as the level of development of the infrastructure for material and energy recovery of the Centre’s output.
The mayor of Koprivnica-Križevci County Darko Koren pointed out that the signing of this agreement is the starting point for the implementation of this project. He thanked all project partners, adding he hoped that good cooperation will continue in the future, and that the works would start during the year. The mayor of Varaždin County, Radimir Čačić, said he expected that the establishment of the waste management system would yield results, pointing out that Croatia should consider the plants that would use RDF.
