August 29, 2020 - Istria is in the limelight as the Istrian Development Agency implements two cross-border cooperation projects with Italy. The main goal is to connect the coast and the interior as well as the promotion of environmentally friendly forms of transport.

In addition to other activities of the Istrian Development Agency and the experience of 50 implemented EU projects with a total value of HRK 500 million, two projects in the field of mobility are being implemented, in which IDA is a partner. As Lokalni.hr writes, these are ICARUS and MIMOSA.

ICARUS project

Last year, a project called ICARUS - Intermodal connections in the Adriatic-Ionian region foresaw the growth of seamless solutions for passengers and invested in that with a total value of 2,200,000 euros, of which 180,000 euros are intended for IDA.

In partnership with HŽ passenger transport, this project will arrange a section of the train on the Istrian railway for the needs of bicycle transport. Travellers will have the opportunity to continue their journey by exploring other parts of Istria after exiting at one of the stations on the route or the new bike path Kanfanar - Rovinj. This second option will be possible after the completion of the reconstruction of the former railway line, which is being regulated by the City of Rovinj and the Municipality of Kanfanar, and to which the Istrian Development Agency has partly contributed.

So far, the "Analysis of shortcomings and needs in mobility in Istria County" has been prepared within ICARUS. It is a study that includes a description of the current situation, the systems implemented so far, and the legal basis and relevant strategies, after which the "Guidelines for the development of IT solutions" were developed as a starting point for the following activities and projects.

As part of this project, IDA held a webinar in cooperation with the Istrian Development Tourist Agency on the topic of bicycle transport in Istria, attractions near bicycle paths and plans. After the webinar, a quiz called "Discover Istria by bike" was organised, the winner was awarded a bicycle, all with the aim of promoting healthy transport habits.

Three years to finish

As ICARUS has established good cooperation and communication with local and regional stakeholders, representatives of the public and private sectors, useful information has been obtained for further development. They are included in the activities of another project in which IDA is involved, and that is MIMOSA (Maritime and multimodal sustainable passenger transport solutions and services), with a total value of 7,140,000 euros, of which IDA has invested 374,750 euros. Implementation began in July this year.

In this project, the Istrian Development Agency will focus its activities on two pilot activities. The first one is the development of a smart card, and the second is the platform "Via Istra", which will enable the promotion of available forms of transport in Istria but also create new opportunities for economic development and supply in this region. The expected duration of the MIMOSA project is three years, and some of the partners are HŽ passenger transport, the Port of Rovinj Authority, and the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds - Directorate for Islands.

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