Most important projects for inclusion in draft Regional Development Agreement approved
A decision to include four priority projects in the draft Regional Development Agreement (RDA) was unanimously adopted at the meeting of the Development Council of the Ljubljana Urban Region held on 14 December 2015. The selected projects will facilitate the exploitation of the region’s most important development potentials and priorities, eliminate obstacles to development and help implementation of the process of regional specialisation.
The Regional Development Programme of the Ljubljana Urban Region 2014–2020 is realised via the RDA, which is the key delivery mechanism for regional policy. The RDA is concluded for a period of four years between the ministry responsible for regional development (MGRT) and the regional development council. The process of drafting and coordination of the RDA is defined by the Decree on the implementation of endogenous regional policy measures, on the basis of which the MGRT published, on 13 November 2015, an invitation to submit a draft of the agreement by 15 December 2015 at the latest. On the basis of this invitation, RRA LUR prepared a draft of the agreement, which includes the most important regional, interregional and/or sectoral projects for the Ljubljana Urban Region (LUR).
The selection of projects to include in the agreement took into account the general conditions set out in Article 3 of the Decree on the implementation of endogenous regional policy measures and the general criteria from Article 4(1) of the same Decree, broken down into regionally specific criteria. On the basis of these, 22 projects with a total value of €241,796,205.93 (of which €179,101,869.22 from EU funds) were included in the RDA. In the course of evaluation of the most important projects, the following projects occupied the first four places:
- Reducing Flood Risk in the LUR
The project consists of numerous flood risk reduction measures proposed by municipalities that are within the competence either of municipalities or the state. The 20 municipalities of the LUR currently included in the project have together proposed measures worth €88,164,000, which should be implemented in the period 2016–2020.
- Construction of the P+R network
The project involves a continuation of the construction of the Park and Ride (P+R) network in the LUR and consists of those projects which municipalities consider to be realisable in the period 2016–2017. Eleven municipalities have together proposed the construction of 12 P+R locations, with a total project value of €14,057,951.
- Creative and Active Youth (KAM)
Aimed at increasing youth employment, particularly in the creative sector, the project focuses on promoting the faster transition of young people from education to employment and on linking young entrepreneurs with the creative sector. Via an interdisciplinary approach, activities will include assistance with the development of enterprise ideas, mentoring, events of various kinds, training, linking creative entrepreneurs, use of underexploited spaces, crowdfunding support and assistance in establishing new enterprises in the field of the creative industries. The project has a value of €1,492,355 and will be implemented in the period 2016–2020. Along with RRA LUR and the University of Ljubljana, project participants will include all interested municipalities in the LUR.
- Network of Regional Cycle Connections
The purpose of the project is to plan and construct cycling connections between and within urban centres in the LUR, with the aim of encouraging everyday cycling for commuting, journeys to and from school, shopping, recreation, and so on. By increasing the number of those relying on cycling for their mobility needs, the project hopes to contribute to sustainable mobility goals and help reduce the use of private cars for everyday journeys. The project envisages the preparation of a regional plan of important cycling connections and the construction of 170 km of cycle paths in LUR municipalities. The total value of the project is €25,525,000 and implementation is expected to take place in the period 2018–2020, since no funds are earmarked for it in the national budget before then, nor is the construction of cycle paths defined within the Operational Programme of the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2014–2020.