Ministry: Projects Approved for Regions Worth over €120 million

Bratislava, July 11 (TASR) - The Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry continues to approve applications for non-refundable financial contributions and contracts for local authorities, said ministry State Secretary Richard Maracek on Friday following a meeting of the parliamentary committee for public administration and regional development as part of an informal discussion. The committee wasn't quorate due to a lack of MPs. Maracek added that by 18 June of this year, more than €60 million worth of projects had been approved, with this amount increasing to €121 million in the past two weeks. "The contracts stand at €62.4 million, and the decisions over those two weeks are worth €58.9 million. We have another €40 million in the process at the Investments Ministry, and the expectation is that if this trend continues, we'll be close to that €200-million mark by the end of July. This is a figure that we're allegedly somehow blocking and putting the brakes on, but that's not true. The regions are drawing [money], sending in projects and entering figures in the ITMS information system as we've requested," said Maracek. According to him, nothing has stopped, and the reconstruction of schools and roads, the development of green infrastructure, culture and tourism and the building of cycle paths will continue. The approved project plans that the regions are implementing have reached 59 percent of the total, and the figure is as high as 61 percent in the case of the partnership councils. am/df