February 14, 2020 - The Municipality of Podstrana can boast that it has implemented projects, worth approximately 20 million kuna, co-financed by European and national funds.

“Employees of the Administrative Department for Public Procurement, Economy, Social Affairs and EU Funds of Podstrana Municipality work hard to apply and implement projects co-financed by European and national funds,” said Mayor Mladen Bartulovic.

Vecernji List writes that one of the most valuable projects is the sea-river promenade and the Podstrana walk & bike track, worth around 10,000,000 kuna. It was funded by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund for 8,500,000 kuna.

As part of the project, a bicycle path and promenade from the mouth of Zrnovnica to the sports harbor Strozanac were constructed and equipped, along the left bank of the river.

“This project created a recognizable appearance of the Podstrana Municipality, and thus enriched the tourist offer of our municipality as an attractive tourist destination,” emphasized Bartulovic.

Podstrana municipality is a leading partner of the ECOMAP project, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the INTERREG ITAL-CRO cross-border cooperation program. Six other Italian and four Croatian partners are participating in the project. ECOMAP is a project for environmentally sustainable management of marinas and tourist ports, with a total value of around 2.8 million euro. The EU finances 85 percent of the project's value, and the remaining 15 percent each partner finances by themselves.

The aim of the project is environmental protection to improve the quality of the sea and the coastal area. The Municipality has submitted a project for the construction of a sewage system to be constructed as part of the coastal zone from Strozanac to the Lav Hotel, worth approximately 619,000 euro, of which the EU funds 526,000 euro. One of the project partners is the Strozanac Sports Fishing Association, which will acquire and install equipment for chemical and physical treatment of wastewater generated during ship washing, as well as provide a device for pumping and receiving fecal, i.e., black water, from boats and yachts.

Significant for all Podstrana residents is the construction of the Perun Recycling Yard, an ongoing project worth 9,160,000kuna, co-financed by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund, in the amount of 4,200,000 kuna. Related to this is the Thinking ECO project, worth around 1,200,000 kuna, co-financed by EU Cohesion Fund (85 percent). The project promoter is the City of Solin, and the municipalities of Podstrana, Klis and Dugopolje are co-owners of the activities. The Thinking ECO project is designed as a program of information-educated activities aimed at raising the environmental awareness of the residents of the towns involved about their active role in reducing and preventing waste.

The reconstruction of the intersection of Hercegovacka Street and King Zvonimir Street, worth approximately 1,380,000 kuna, is co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development of 894,388.41 kuna.

The project Zaželi, worth around 6,100,000 kuna, of which 1,697,449.20 kuna refers to the Municipality of Podstrana, was financed by the European Social Fund. For the preparation of project documentation for the sports center Miljevac, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds approved 600,000 kuna, and for the amendments to the Strategic Development Program of the Municipality of Podstrana, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development approved 48,000 kuna.

Podstrana Municipality has submitted 20 projects for various tenders, of which 20 projects have been approved for co-financing: improving the coastline from the mouth of the Zrnovnica River to Strozanac, Phase 4 to be co-financed by the Ministry of Tourism in the amount of 225,000 kuna; fixing the beach with stone material co-financed by the Split-Dalmatia County of 400,000 kuna, as well as repairing damages in the coastal area in the municipality, which again is co-financed by the County in the amount of 100,000 kuna. The Split-Dalmatia County co-financed the arrangement of roads in the Podstrana area for 36,500 kuna. Podstrana Municipality has been granted a voucher of 15,000 euro to provide free wi-fi access to the public areas of the municipality to local residents and visitors.

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