Transcript Local authorities must identify resources

Managing and Communicating
the Local Policy on EU Funds Absorption
Irina Yordanova
Chairwoman of the European Affairs and Civil Society
Permanent Committee of the Sofia City Council
Local authorities must have a
vision and a policy:





What should their territory look like in 4, 7 or 10
years ?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of their
municipality?
What are the overall needs for investment ?
What specific projects can be proposed for
financing ?
In order to ensure the efficiency of investments,
municipalities have to prepare strategic
development plans.
Local authorities must
identify resources:
On the basis of the strategy, municipalities should
identify available resources in the SF and CF and
check other complementary resources (FP7, CBC
Europaid Thematic Calls, EIB)
 Beneficiaries should know where to get information
regarding launched and planned calls for proposals
 Regular screening of the web sites/official
journals
 Regular contacts with the MAs/Intermediate
Bodies
 Contacts with bilateral partners or in networks

City of Sofia - strategic vision
 Capital of Bulgaria for the last 120 years, nowadays
it has more than 1,3 million citizens
 Centre of university education – 19 universities, 42%
of all students in the country
 Centre of Research – Bulgarian Academy of Science
with more than 2400 scientists
 The unemployment rate is under 3 % - the lowest in
Bulgaria
 65.2 % of the population is of working age
 More than 27 % of the population has high
educational degree
Strategic Location
 Geographical Centre of South East Europe and
Entry point to the Middle East;
 Cross point of Three Pan-European Transport
Corridors:
Corridor № 4 - connecting
Central Europe and the
Mediterranean Sea;
Corridor № 8 – connecting
the Adriatic and the Black Sea;
Corridor № 10 – connecting
Western Europe with Turkey
and the Middle East.
Sofia - Dynamic Economic Centre
 The GDP of Sofia represents 29,7 % of the national
GDP
 Sofia concentrates 49.5 % of all foreign direct
investment in Bulgaria for the last 15 years
 The largest sector of the municipal economy is the
service sector with about 73 %
 There are 41 710 small and medium-sized enterprises
which produce 71% of all revenues
 Active real estate market with rental fees lowest
among the CEEC
 Sofia Municipality has ‘BB+’ rating with positive
outlook by S&P.
Challenges:
 Transport and Traffic – the number of
vehicles and the traffic flows are
outrunning the transport infrastructure
development;
 Municipal Solid Waste Management –
need of a modern management system;
 Water Sector – water supply & waste water
treatment.
Sofia Solid Waste Management:
• State of the art –during the last 2 years there was no
functioning household waste landfill; Baling of the waste,
storage on sites in the city and transportation to other
municipalities. At present - reopening of the old landfill at
Suhodol
• Cooperation with EU institutions for finding a solution:
Development of a contemporary integrated waste
management system to be financed by OP
“Environment” with EUR 131 million.
• Current situation:
• Introduction of separated waste collection system;
• Consultant selected to provide the Feasibility Study of
the Project
Sofia Water Sector Development Project
• A project for reconstruction and extension of
the water and drainage system on the territory
of Sofia city;
• Budget of the project:
EUR 58,5 million
• 75% ISPA funding;
• 15% EIB;
• 10% own contribution.
Project for Sofia Waste Water Treatment
Installations
• Construction of waste water treatment
installations in 8 settlements on the territory of
Sofia city;
• Funding for the pre-feasibility study ,
approved by SOFINEX on the amount of
EUR 160 000 .
Sustainable Development of the Urban
territories along “Vladayska” River in Sofia
 Construction of two modern city
boulevards and one road junction and
development of the green places along
the river;
 Funding sources – OP “Regional
Development”, own financing, etc.
Sofia Public Lightning System Development
Renewal of the old lightning system
with modern energy efficient
intelligent solution;
Funding sources – possible PPP,
EU funding, etc.
Other Sofia Municipality Priority Projects
 Reconstruction of major transport
infrastructure network;
Delivery of new buses, trams and trolleys.
 Rehabilitation of over- bridges and subways;
 Rehabilitation of the social infrastructure in
Sofia – refurbishment and introduction of RES
and energy efficiency measures, etc.
Foreign Investment Projects
 Business park Sofia - a complex of buildings with
business offices, stores, conference halls, commercial areas,
exhibition spaces, etc. ;
 Shopping malls:
- Soravia Centre – Austrian investment;
- Benchmark office and Shopping centre;
- Carefour Trade Complex with shops, cinema halls,
restaurants (floor are of 55 thousand sq. m.), etc.
Future Investment Projects
 Construction of underground parking facilities
• At present there are 3 500 parking spaces in the
downtown area.
• Feasibility studies have been commissioned for six
two-level underground parking constructions to
provide 10 200 parking places.
• Funding – PPP, concession, etc.
Future Investment Projects
 Development of industrial zones and
Technology parks - in Iliyanci, Lozen, Airport
area, etc.
 Rehabilitation of the prefabricated
residential buildings;
 Renovation and construction of social
houses;
 Construction of a new cemetery ;
 Construction of bicycle alleys in the city
parks, etc.
Participation in EU Projects
- R4R (Development of a model for knowledge
transfer) - 6th FP, Priority: Support for the
coherent development of policies
- GREENKEYS (Urban Green as a Key for
Sustainable Cities) under INTERREG III B CADSES
programme
- PRONET - to create an information network for
exchange of knowledge on air pollution problems,
6th FP
- BELIEF, STACCATO, CRRESCENDO, etc.
Conclusion – six keywords






EU funded projects in municipalities and regions is
a garanty to involve the citizens in the EU
We need projects (good projects)
Information is very important
Expertise and consultancy
Private partners to implement
Crucial element is the time/deadline: 2007-2013
(not to forget the N+2 rule)