For rehabilitation and close-out of Leć landfill in Croatia EU gives EUR 1.7 million

The Leć waste dump in Vodice, a town in the Šibenik-Knin county in Croatia, will soon be rehabilitated and closed: a contract for this project was signed last week. The total project’s value is HRK 16.2 million (EUR 2.18 million), of which 85 percent has been provided by the European Union (EU).

This is the first contract in Croatia for non-refundable EU funds realized through a public call from the Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy for disposal of non-hazardous waste dumps. It is the first rehabilitation project to be financed from the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion.

Through this Operational Program, the European Union has allocated a non-refundable HRK 12.8 million (EUR 1.7 million) for the rehabilitation and closure of the 3 hectare-large landfill Leć. The remaining funds of HRK 3.4 million (EUR 460.000) have been provided by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund and the City of Vodice: the Fund has secured 10 percent and the City of Vodice 5 percent.

The contract was signed by Tomislav Ćorić, minister of Environmental Protection and Energy of Croatia, Dubravko Ponoš, director of Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, and Nelka Tomić, Vodice mayor.

Minister Ćorić reminded representatives of local governments across Croatia that tender for disposal of non-hazardous waste dumps is still open and invited them to apply and use HRK 80 million (EUR 10,8 million) of respective funds for co-financing.

In 2018, Croatia will continue with rehabilitation and close-outs of landfills, Ćorić said.  The long-term goal is to establish a comprehensive waste management system in the country. Basic activities in that direction should start from households with waste separation, he added.

In the Šibenik-Knin County, a project for the establishment of integrated waste management is being implemented. According to Croatian media, a tender for the selection of contractors for the construction of the Bikarac Waste Management Center has been published.

The city-owned company Bikarac published a tender in December last year for design and construction of the waste-treatment plant and related facilities located near City of Šibenik in Croatia.

The Bikarac Regional Waste Management Center project is worth HRK 130 million (EUR 17.2 million). Money had been secured from European Union’s Cohesion Fund funds and the Croatian Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund.