Split preparing for major EU funding programme.
Šimun Anđelinović, the rector of the University of Split, and the mayor of Split Ivo Baldasar have signed the agreement to prepare the strategy for development of the Split urban agglomeration. The agreement on cooperation has also been signed by the leaders of towns and municipalities Sinj, Kaštela, Trogir, Dugopolje, Klis, Lećevica, Muć and Podstrane, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on September 8, 2015.
“In order to apply for EU funds, which will provide 345 million euros in the next five years, we must create a so-called agglomeration, which means a strategy of joint development. The municipal mayors understand that and have therefore joined the city authorities. The University of Split is the best institution to develop the strategy for the development of urban agglomeration”, said Baldasar and explained that the document will not cover the whole county since the EU treats regions, counties and agglomerations differently.
The University will prepare the draft by the end of the year, and the final version should be adopted in early 2016. “At the University, we have already held first meetings where we agreed that the towns and the county will prepare data that will be the starting point for the strategy, which we will create in coordination with our committee and all university constituents. We are witnessing the phenomenon of tourism development in Split, but no one knows what will happen next. That is why the strategy is so important, because we need to determine which industries will exist, how the transport infrastructure will be developed. In strategies, we have to start from that which brings us together and highlight what is common to all the towns and municipalities, such as the airport, transportation, waste disposal system”, said the rector.
