ZAGREB, 31 Aug, 2021 - A total of 842 project applications have been submitted to the public call "Strengthening the competitiveness of companies by investing in the digital and green transition", worth HRK 1.14 billion, and about 320 of them will receive funding, launching an investment cycle worth over HRK 3.6 billion.
At a press conference at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Minister Tomislav Ćorić recalled that the public call was open from 30 April to 31 May this year.
The call is intended for small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing and processing industries, with the aim of strengthening their production capacities, and Ćorić pointed out that the source of funding was the REACT-EU instrument (Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe).
A number of project applications are from Sisak-Moslavina County, and according to preliminary data, 12 such project applications are worth over HRK 37 million.
The president of the HAMAG-BICRO agency, Vjeran Vrbanec, said that the total value of funding requested by entrepreneurs amounted to HRK 2.5 billion.
Ćorić: Similar calls to be published in coming period
Ćorić said that similar calls would be published in the coming period.
Such calls with a digital or green component will open up a large and necessary space for further strengthening the capacity and competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing and processing industries, he said.
He stressed that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) implied continuous monitoring of new projects and support for new investments by Croatian entrepreneurs.
Direct grants from the NPOO to companies for transition to an energy and resource efficient economy will amount to HRK 1.9 billion in the coming period. In addition to that, HRK 960 million will be directed at innovation and digitisation, and HRK 1.1 billion at encouraging investments that are a prerequisite for a circular economy.
Also, financial instruments in the amount of HRK 2.3 billion aimed at investments and strengthening competitiveness will be available through HAMAG-BICRO and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR).
"So, this is what can be expected in 2022 and 2023," the minister announced.
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