site.btaProgress in Absorption of Funds within OP Regional Development Is 81%

Progress in Absorption of Funds within OP Regional Development Is 81%

Sofia, June 5 (BTA) - Regional Development and Public Works
Minister Lilyana Pavlova said that 81 per cent of funds within
Operational Programme Regional Development have been absorbed.
She took part in the opening of the 16th session of the
Monitoring Committee of OP Regional Development and the second
meeting of the Monitoring Committee of OP Regions in Growth held
at the Boyana Residence.

If the projects are successfully implemented, absorption may
reach 97 per cent by the end of May next year, the Minister
said. She recalled that there were 32 projects at risk but the
problems have been eliminated.

The technical procedures of approval by the European Commission
of OP Regional in Growth will be completed within the next few
days. The guidelines for applying under the new programme will
be published by the end of the months and the first projects
will be considered and approved in September.

The Minister noted that 2018 is an important year because - by
the end of that year - a certain amount should be absorbed and
there should be implemented projects with payments made and
certified within them. "If we fail to do this, we will be unable
to redistribute the remaining resource, which will be to the
detriment of beneficiaries," Pavlova noted.