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Zagreb - A closing conference for the project "Infrastructure Development of the Ljubešćica Enterprise Zone" was held in this municipality in northern Varaždin County on Tuesday.
The aim of this project, launched in 2011, was to build municipal and electricity infrastructure for enterprise development and to attract investment. Nearly 6,000 square metres of roads, several thousand metres of storm drains, and public lighting was built.
The value of the project is HRK 7.86 million, of which HRK 4.79 million came from the European Regional Development Fund and HRK 1.55 million was provided by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds.
"This project will ensure further economic development not just of this municipality, but of Varaždin County as well, and it will also create new jobs," Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said at the closing conference.
He added that this project showed how being a member of the European Union paid off.
"Looking at the first eight years of EU membership, Croatia has received approximately HRK 44 billion more from the EU than it has contributed to the common budget. What lies ahead of us is a real opportunity for development because over the next seven years we will have access to about €24 billion from different EU funds and programmes," Jandroković said.
The closing ceremony was also attended by the Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, who said that about HRK 25 billion was currently being invested in road infrastructure projects in Croatia, some of which were being implemented in Varaždin County.