Minister Ivanov: The sustainable development of regions is a necessity that creates quality of life and opportunities for all major cities

"In the current global situation, the challenges for Bulgarian regions are multi-layered – climate change, socio-economic inequalities, urbanisation, demographic imbalances. Against this background, the sustainable development of regions is not just a strategic objective – it is a necessity. Our task is to ensure growth that does not deplete natural resources, that reduces the carbon footprint and at the same time creates quality of life and opportunities for all in big cities." This was stated by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov during his participation in the forum GREEN TRANSITION 5.0. He participated in a discussion on "Sustainable development of regions. Carbon-neutral and smart cities: From vision to neutrality.”

Minister Ivanov pointed out that sustainability is at the center of regional development policies aimed at integrating environmental, economic and social aspects. Through EU instruments, as well as through cohesion policy and the Just Transition Mechanism, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works supports projects that promote energy efficiency, green infrastructure, innovation and digitalisation.

The Minister also reminded that in the 2021-2027 programming period, the Regional Development Programme (RDP) had a budget of BGN 6.5 billion under the European Regional Development Fund and the Just Transition Fund, with the programme activities being implemented in a completely new approach – through integrated territorial investments. A key point in the new territorial approach is to identify projects bottom-up, which promotes cross-sectoral and inter-institutional dialogue and coordination, with local stakeholders taking the initiative to implement them.

The Minister stressed that the MRDPW in recent months has taken concrete measures to accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency projects in the housing sector under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) in active communication with municipalities to ensure timely start and activities for maximum absorption of funds within the stipulated deadlines. The Ministry has finalised the process of concluding grant agreements under the procedure ‘Support for sustainable energy renovation of multi-family residential buildings, including tackling energy poverty’ under the RDP 2021-2027.

Minister Ivanov pointed out that the MRDPW envisages specific measures and financial mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency programmes and of multi-family and single-family residential buildings within the framework of the RDP 2021-2027.