Prime Minister Andrej Plenković presented contracts for the construction of three waste management centers (WMCs) in Lećevica, Piškornica and Lučino razdolje, which will take over what inadequate current landfills are currently doing, as well as funding decisions from the IRI S3 Call for Research and Development projects.
"We organized the event together because we wanted to send a message about how we see Croatia in the future. We see it with a high-quality, modern, well-organized waste management system," said Plenković at the contract presentation ahead of the Government session on Wednesday.
He stated that the completion of the three waste management centers, for which 186 million euros are currently being allocated, is expected in 2028, and he assessed that this is a great success considering that these are projects that last many years, and that are associated with a lot of expectations and frustrations.
Piškornica covers four northwestern counties: Krapina-Zagorje, Međimurje, Varaždin and Koprivnica-Križevci and will enable better waste disposal and management for over half a million people living in that area, and in the second phase it will partially cover the fifth county, Bjelovar-Bilogora.
Better quality waste disposal will also be enabled by two WMCs in the south - Lećevica in Split-Dalmatia County and Lučino razdolje in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, which are particularly necessary given the challenges during the tourist season and the large number of people.
The Prime Minister expressed his expectation that the Osijek-Baranja WMC issue would be resolved with similar dynamics.
Vučković: We are on the right track to achieving our goals
Minister of Environmental Protection and Green Transition Marija Vučković emphasized that these are contracts related to supporting the construction of WMCs, which are a central part of the entire waste management system.
"We are well on our way to achieving the goals stemming from the current Waste Management Plan 2023-2028, which states that we should have 11 WMCs in operation by the end of 2028. We will have more challenges, but last year we had three in operation, and today we have four, while Babina Gora will be in test operation in the first half of 2026," she pointed out.
Regarding the funding decisions from the IRI S3 Call for proposals for research and development projects, Prime Minister Plenković wished the companies much success, emphasizing that these are projects that show that the Croatian economy and entrepreneurs are following trends and keeping up with what is most important in the world, many of which are related to artificial intelligence.
He added that investments in research, development and innovation are continuously increasing.
Today, 22 decisions worth a total of 54 million euros were awarded, of which 33 million are grants, at which time the Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar emphasized that the awarding of these funds represents an important step forward.
"This is a very important program that will contribute to the development of your products, it is also very important for establishing our innovation ecosystem that has come to life and is developing daily," he pointed out.
In agreement with the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Mikuš Žigman, additional funds have been secured for next year, around 109 million euros, Šušnjar added, so around 150 million euros will be available for research, development and innovation next year as well.
Both awards involve funding under the Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme 2021 - 2027.
Photo: HINA/Daniel Kasap
