Govt Optimistic about Future of Podravje
The government visited the NE region of Podravje on Wednesday in the second round of visits to the 12 Slovenian statistical regions, with Prime Minister Janez Jansa assessing that the region around Maribor could advance from being the 7th to become the fourth or even third most developed Slovenian region.
However, Jansa told the press in Lenart that the region should develop its full potential and discover new opportunities. According to him, Podravje could benefit from the planned establishment of provinces.
The 22 municipalities in the region are already doing better in some areas than indicated by their position, especially regarding the number of newly-established companies, tourism, and unemployment, Jansa said during the cabinet's visit to the region.
He added that the passed changes to the municipalities financing act netted Podravje EUR 18m more in funds on the annual level.
Furthermore, Jansa said that several important projects from the 35 listed in the government's resolution on national development projects between 2007-2023 were located in Podravje, with a combined value of EUR 1bn.
According to Jansa, another boon for the region is the increased amount of money available from EU funds. The region will get four times more funds in the 2007-2013 EU budget framework compared to the previous EU budget.
The news conference was also attended by Local Self-Government and Regional Development Minister Ivan Zagar, Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and Education and Sport Minister Milan Zver with Vizjak highlighting the EUR 160m construction of a business centre in the region.
Zver said that the ministry invested EUR 25m in the development of the network of schools in Maribor, the largest ever investment cycle in education in Slovenia's second largest city.
Zagar meanwhile pointed to the importance of direct investment for the development of the region. He stressed that the scope of such investments increased from EUR 2.1m in 2004 to the current EUR 21m.
Plans for a Maribor university medical centre were discussed as Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Jure Zupan and Health Minister Andrej Brucan visited the Maribor general hospital. The project is estimated at EUR 51m, the bulk of which (EUR 31m) is to come from EU funds.
Also in Maribor, Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak and Development Minister Ziga Turk inaugurated new management centres of power producer Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE) and its subsidiary Dravske elektrarne Maribor, which manages the chain of hydro plants on the Drava.
The centres, which are located at the Dravske elektrarne Maribor headquarters, are to enable modern, optimised and high-quality management of electricity production from one place, and provide reliable and optimal operations.
Jansa, Vizjak and Katja Lautar, state secretary at the government Development Office, also made a stopover at the Mariborska livarna (MLM) foundry, Maribor's largest industrial facility.
Wrapping up the cabinet's visit to the region, Jansa and the ministers also met mayors and business executives from the region and discussed the development shifts and prospects for the region. Business officials said that despite the decrease in unemployment, the region was still second-to-last in Slovenia.
Noting that this was mainly structural unemployment, they proposed that young people should be encouraged to enroll in educational programmes that would enable companies to employ them.
On a more negative note, Milan Petek, Maribor city councillor and an MP of the opposition Liberal Democrats (LDS), meanwhile labelled the cabinet's visit a clever marketing move.
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