2024-02-21 23:40:38
There is great interest in the announced program for providing public support for the development of industrial areas, parks and similar territories to attract investments worth BGN 212.5 million under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan (NRSP). An evaluation is currently underway and MIR expects to announce the results as soon as possible. This became clear from the hearing of Milena Stoycheva, Minister of Innovation and Growth, before the members of the parliamentary “Commission for Control over the Management of European Funds”. Minister Stoycheva was invited to familiarize the members of the commission with the challenges, risks and the measures taken to overcome them in view of the progress in the implementation of the instruments financed by the EU.
The subject of industrial parks excited the deputies from the commission, and Minister Stoycheva’s speech also provoked a reaction from Tomislav Donchev from GERB-SDS.
“In the end, will we have a balanced distribution of industrial parks on the territory of the country, or will we focus our efforts mainly on the existing industrial zones? Will we have a zone in Varna, Burgas, Gabrovo, Vidin, Vratsa?” asked the minister, the chairman of the parliamentary commission Denitsa Nikolova from the GERB-SDS group.
The answer to the question posed by Minister Stoycheva was as follows: “We consider the need for priority support for Northern Bulgaria, because there we have a lag in the development and financing of industrial parks and zones. But since the procedure is competitive and requires compliance with the measures, we we would not be able to specifically support any of the priority areas.We have done a very broad outreach campaign in places so that we can encourage the implementation and inclusion of more such areas.And those who apply from that area have an extra number of points to be encouraged with financing”.
However, this provoked Tomislav Donchev from GERB-SDS to take a stand. He insisted on a strategically oriented debate on the topic of the balanced development of the country’s regions, defining the application of the competitive principle between municipalities as a historical mistake. Donchev recommended the representatives of MIR and the government as a whole not to divide Bulgaria into North and South, because, in his words, it will be difficult to convince the representatives of the Kyustendil municipality why their colleagues from Varna have bonus points in the ranking process, and they do not . He described the scheme for industrial parks at NPVU as the worst he had ever seen.
Minister Milena Stoycheva also informed the present members of the parliamentary committee about the progress in the implementation of schemes and procedures under the NPVU.
“The four measures for the provision of free funding, for which the Ministry of Innovation and Growth (MIR) is responsible, have been announced in implementation of the National Development Plan,” she said.
It started with the “Technological Modernization” procedure announced on July 22 last year with a budget of BGN 260 million. The purpose of the measure is to increase the production processes and there are 953 enterprises approved for financing. According to the procedure, 950 contracts were concluded, with the amount of the free financing under them for just under BGN 248 million. Of these, 188 contracts have been successfully concluded, according to the report provided to Minister Stoycheva.
Under the scheme for the provision of grants for solutions in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) and cyber security with a budget of nearly BGN 31 million, 1,568 contracts were concluded for BGN 29.636 million in funds provided. There are 112 contracts that have been successfully concluded here, the minister said.
On February 14, 2023, the scheme for supporting investments in renewable energy for own consumption, with an announced budget of BGN 200 million, was opened on February 14, 2023. A total of 562 proposals for the implementation of investments with the amount of the requested financing for over BGN 158 million were submitted and 421 were approved. for BGN 118.552 million. The concluded contracts are 382, with the amount of the provided financing of BGN 106.523 million, the minister continued.
According to the scheme for supporting enterprises in the transition to a circular economy, 375 of them were approved for financing, and 885 investment proposals were submitted under the measure.
“We noted that there is a lot of interest in this measure and we tried to look for an option to support the sectors in which there is a greater stated interest,” she added.
Separately, small and medium-sized enterprises awarded by the EC with a seal of excellence are also supported, which, according to her, is a very good example of synergy between the EC programs and those supported by MIR. The proposals received in this case number 16, with 12 contracts concluded for a total of BGN 34.75 million.
Milena Stoycheva also pointed out what MIR is doing to satisfy, if possible, applicants for programs with a strong interest, BTA reported.
“What we at the MIR are doing under the NPVU, so as to satisfy the reserve candidates who have made efforts, is that in the event of funds remaining under programs, they are to be redistributed immediately to a portion of reserve candidates in fields in which there is a strong interest declared, she explained. Such is the example of redirecting funds to the scheme for the technological modernization of enterprises.