The signing ceremony was attended by Finance Minister Slavko Linić, Environmental Protection Minister Mirela Holy, the President of the Istria County Ivan Jakovčić, the Deputy President of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Vidoje Vujić, the Mayor of the City of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel and the President of the Management Board of the company “Ekoplus” Dušan Šćulac.
Since for EU projects funds partially need to be provided independently in the budgets of local and regional self-government units and the budgets of other end-beneficiaries – project contractors, one of the issues most frequently raised by EU fund beneficiaries is how to provide the funds necessary for co-financing at national level. The European Union offered a solution to this issue through a loan granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in favour of the beneficiary country. The line of credit in the amount of EUR 200 million for the total amount of co-financing at national level for all infrastructure projects financed from EU funds in the Republic of Croatia is signed by the Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, which following this, grants it under the same conditions in favour of the end-beneficiaries – contractors of infrastructure projects in the Republic of Croatia.
The loan agreement for financing projects in the field of environmental protection signed between the Ministry of Finance, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the City of Rijeka and the company “Ekoplus” relates to the waste management project Marišćina. The projected value of the project financed from EU funds amounts to EUR 33.28 million, where the amount of national co-financing of EUR 6.99 million is provided by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, and the loan proceeds: the City of Rijeka in the amount of EUR 2.01 million, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in the amount of EUR 2.01 million and the company “Ekoplus” in the amount of EUR 7.20 million.
The terms and conditions of the loans are the same as the terms and conditions of the line of credit which the Ministry of Finance has signed with the European Investment Bank: repayment period 20 yrs., grace period 5 yrs. and the rate of interest of 3.987%.
Within the project for the construction of the waste management centre a new landfill site will be provided that will comply with the requests laid down in the Directive on waste management, which will gradually take over waste from the non-complying landfill site, being at the same time rehabilitated. Moreover, the waste management centre, by applying appropriate technology (mechanical and biological waste processing) will provide a gradual reduction of the share of biodegradable municipal waste deposited in the landfill sites to the established 35% of the total quantity of such waste generated in 1997.
In December 2011 works were contracted for the following projects: the construction of the County Waste Management Centre Marišćina in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the County Waste Management Centre Kaštijun in the Istria County. The projects comprise the construction of waste deposal areas, built in accordance with EU standards and the construction of modern plants for mechanical and biological processing of waste and a wastewater treatment plant. In parallel with the construction of the CWMC, transhipment stations will be built, while all the existing landfill sites in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and in the Istria County will be closed down, thus establishing integrated waste management systems in these two counties. The construction of these two centres will provide now jobs, improve environmental protection in both counties and will enable the development of new economic activities tied to separately collected waste.