Virovitica Gets Its Pool: Funding Secured, Construction Begins
Dragan Jelić, Director of SAFU, confirmed at the ceremonial City Council session that the pool project has successfully passed evaluation and that a financing decision has been made.
Dragan Jelić, Director of SAFU, confirmed at the ceremonial City Council session that the pool project has successfully passed evaluation and that a financing decision has been made.
Virovitica will begin construction on its long-awaited pool later this year. The news, which he called a "birthday gift" to the citizens, was announced by Dragan Jelić, Director of the Central Agency for Financing and Contracting of EU Programs and Projects (SAFU), at the ceremonial City Council session held on the occasion of Virovitica City Day and the feast of St. Roch.
The project has successfully passed SAFU's rigorous evaluation, and the financing agreement is ready. The formal handover is expected as early as September, when a minister-whose name is not mentioned in the sources-will visit Virovitica.
Jelić emphasized that in this financial period, Virovitica has gained ITU city status, allowing it to independently determine which projects to finance. "Thanks to Virovitica becoming one of the ITU cities in this financial period, it was able to define the projects it wants to finance on its own. The mayor and his team applied for the pool project, SAFU conducted an evaluation that was not simple, but everything went through without any issues," Jelić said for icv.hr.
He added that a financing decision has been made and that construction will begin this year, confirming that the project has entered its final phase before the start of works.
The SAFU director also highlighted impressive figures that testify to Virovitica's success in securing European funds. "SAFU is currently monitoring or has monitored six projects of the City of Virovitica worth nearly 40 million euros. When all beneficiaries in the city area are included, that amounts to a total of 21 projects worth 71 million euros," he stated.
He stressed that the projects are not limited to those monitored by SAFU, as significant funds are also being realized through other institutions, including the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Croatian Waters, and the Croatian Employment Service.
Behind these figures, Jelić pointed out, are concrete investments that are changing the daily lives of citizens. These include electric public transport, the future Veterans' Center, the new Music School, kindergartens, elementary schools, and transport infrastructure, which places Virovitica, given its size, at the very top of Croatia in terms of EU fund utilization.
