Operational Programme “Regions in Growth” allocates additional 64 million BGN to improve the urban environment and economic zones

Approach for indexation of construction costs under the programme approved

An additional BGN 64 million will be invested in measures to improve the urban environment and economic zones through financial instruments implemented by the “Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria”. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Desislava Georgieva, who is the head of the Managing Authority (MA) of the Operational Programme “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020. The amendment to the OPRG was approved during the 21st meeting of the Monitoring Committee (the MC). It was attended by representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Rural Policy, institutions and organisations, members of the MC. The Forum took place in Stara Zagora.

The members of the Committee also approved the approach proposed by the Managing Authority of the Programme for the indexation of the costs of civil works of the grant contracts falling outside the scope of the Methodology for modification of the price of the public procurement contract as a result of inflation, adopted by Council of Ministers Decree No 290 of 27.09.2022 and promulgated in SG No 78 of 30.09.2022. The purpose of the indexation is to ensure equal treatment of beneficiaries under OPRG 2014- 2020 that fall outside the scope of the Methodology, and to support them with a 15% grant, in line with the MA approach for those included in the Methodology. With this decision, the members of the Monitoring Committee give the OPRG 2014-2020 beneficiaries the possibility to award and/or complete their procurement under the Public Procurement Act for all contracts under implementation. This will also contribute to meeting the objectives and indicators of the Operational Programme “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020.

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Georgieva also gave a full overview of the OPRG implementation, highlighting the good progress, but also mentioning the challenges in the areas of education and health infrastructure, as well as regional tourism. She informed that 100% of the programme’s resources have been contracted and the disbursed funds amount to BGN 2,288 billion or 73% of its budget. “In parallel with the implementation of the current operational programme, our efforts are also focused on launching the implementation of the new Development of Regions Programme for the period 2021-2027, which was sent for official approval by the EC on 15 November 2022,” Georgieva added.

Agnès Monfret, Head of Unit Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Settlement Policy, also welcomed the Committee members and said she was impressed by how many schools in Stara Zagora had been renovated and the children there were well prepared and expressed her confidence for the future of the town. She stressed that Stara Zagora is a truly green city, having personally had the opportunity to use green electric buses when visiting OPRG sites in the city.

The representative of the European Commission said that the period we are in now is crucial for the successful completion of the programme. Also, the lessons and lessons learned in the 2014-2020 programming period will be very important for the implementation of the objectives in the new programming period 2021-2027. Against the backdrop of the many crises that have occurred in recent months, the EC has expressed its support to the Managing Authority to jointly tackle the challenges. Desislava Georgieva, assured the EC representatives that the entire expert and administrative capacity of the Managing Authority of the OPRG is committed and actively working to ensure that “not a single euro” is lost from the implementation of projects in this programming period.

Regarding the Development of Regions 2021-2027 programme, the head of the Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania department expressed hope for its imminent approval by the end of the year.

During the meeting the topic of the green transition and the low-carbon economy was also discussed. The opportunity for their support, which our country will receive including through the Regional Development Programme 2021-2027, was identified by Ms Monfret as exceptional. According to her, the Just Transition Fund and its budget aim to ensure a just transition for the more affected regions, such as Stara Zagora. This topic is very important both for Bulgaria’s green future and for achieving the goal of a Green Europe by 2050.