MRDPW allocates nearly BGN 100 million under Operational Program “Regions in Growth” for the development of tourism in the country
MRDPW allocates nearly BGN 100 million under Operational Program “Regions in Growth” for the development of to
By Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
100% of the funds under the European program worth more than BGN 3 billion are already allocated by the MRDPW for the development of the regions and the infrastructure
The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works provides nearly BGN 100 million for the development of the tourist attractions in the country under Operational Program “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020. Today, the Managing Authority of the program opened a call for proposals for the provision of grants under Priority Axis 6 Regional Tourism under the program with a total budget of BGN 98.5 million. The main objective is to develop comprehensive tourism products for cultural heritage sites of national and international significance. Funding will be provided for integrated projects involving not only conservation and protection activities of cultural heritage sites, but also promotion and development activities to attract a significant number of tourists.
The projects will be implemented by means of a combination of grants and a financial instrument in the form of low interest loans after project evaluation and a business plan by the respective Urban Development Fund selected by the Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria EAD. The combined funding is intended for projects that have no potential to generate sufficient revenue to be fully funded through financial instruments and require a grant to be financially viable. Potential beneficiaries are the Ministry of Culture (for state-owned sites managed by the Ministry of Culture), municipalities for municipal property (or state-owned sites managed by municipalities), religious institutions and their local units, which are legal entities (for sites owned by the respective institutions and their local units).
The application for funding will be based on the one-stop shop principle, where the applicant submits a design and a business plan to the financial intermediary. Measures may include individual components or complete design solutions and may be combined with a grant on proven needs based on the assessment of the business plan. The maximum grant amount per project may reach 85% of the total amount of the combined funding depending on the business plan analysis performed by the financial intermediary. The deadline for applying for the procedure is 31st December 2021. The application documents set is published on the OPRG website in the menu OP Regions in Growth 2014-2020 under the menu Current Procedures and also in the EUMIS 2020.
With the opening of the procedure, the budget of the Operational Program “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020 is 100% available. Since the beginning of the programming period 2014-2020, the OPRG MA has announced 16 grant procedures for a total amount of over BGN 3 billion, aiming to achieve growth and employment in the Bulgarian regions.
Up to date, 5 grant procedures are open for application under OPRG 2014-2020. These include “Implementation of Integrated Urban Reconstruction and Development Plans 2014-2020” with a total budget of BGN 1.373 billion, “Energy Efficiency in Peripheral Areas – 2” with a total budget of BGN 38.2 million, “Regional Health Infrastructure” with a total budget of BGN 163.5 million, “Support for deinstitutionalization of social services for the elderly people and people with disabilities” with a total budget of BGN 41.4 million, and “Development of tourist attractions” with a total budget of BGN 98.5 million.
