Photovoltaic power plants installed in the “Energy Efficient Region” project

The second promotional event in the “Energy Efficient Region” project was held in Radovish, project implemented by the Centre for development of the South-East planning region, and financially supported by the Ministry of Local Self-Government and the Swiss Government. Municipalities of Radovish, Konche and Vasilevo also participate with their own funds.

Activities implemented so far were presented and the event was attended by the Minister of Local Self-Government in the Government of R. S. Macedonia, the mayors of Radovish and Konche municipalities, the director of the Centre for development of the South-East planning region and representatives from the project office of the project “Sustainable and Inclusive Balanced Regional Development”.

With the implementation of the project, on the one hand, the municipalities of Radovish, Konche and Vasilevo will have a great benefit in terms of saving electricity consumption, and on the other hand, the citizens will also benefit from the increased investments in infrastructure projects which will lead to increased economic development.

– “I hope that all national and international institutions will recognize the benefits of these projects and will finance other similar projects in the future, which will enable easier functioning and easier sustainability of the municipalities and municipal institutions in the region” – emphasized the director of the Centre, Mr. Gjoko Kamchev.

It is expected that by the end of November this year, the photovoltaic power plants of the two facilities in Radovish will be completely installed, after which the development of software for energy monitoring will follow, and trainings for the use of the system are planned, intended for representatives of the three partner municipalities.

“ENERGY EFFICIENT REGION” PROJECT HAS BEEN PROMOTED

On March 24, 2023, the “Energy Efficient Region” project was promoted, which was implemented by the Centre for the Development of the South-East Planning Region, in partnership with the municipalities of Konče, Radovish and Vasilevo, and which foresees the construction of a system of photovoltaic power plants on the roofs of OOU “Krste Petkov Misirkov” and the Sports Hall “25 May” in Radovish with a capacity of 430 KW, as well as the development of a software digital system.

At the event, the Director of CRJIPR, Mr. Gjoko Kamchev, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Local Self-Government, Mr. Kiril Partalov, the Mayor of Radovish Municipality, Mr. Aco Ristov, the Mayor of Konche Municipality, Mr. Zlatko Ristov and the Mayor of the municipality of Vasilevo, Mr. Slave Andonov gave their own address about the project.

“I hope that in the coming period, as a top priority in the goals of the municipalities and the Center, it will be precisely green energy that will significantly contribute to the reduction of the costs of the municipalities, and thus will additionally enable them to use the funds that were previously spent on energy and electricity to use for the realization of other projects, which will be of vital importance for the citizens of the municipalities of Vasilevo, Konche and Radovish” – said the director of the Centre, Mr. Kamchev.

The project team presented the previous and future activities that will be implemented, the expected results, as well as the benefits after the completion of the project implementation.

The total budget of the project amounts is about 23 million denars, funds provided by the Ministry of Local Self-Government and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the three municipal partners in the project that also participate.

 

The Ambassador of Switzerland Véronique Hulmann Marti has visited the South-East planning region

When local governments, civil society and the private sector work together real changes are made on local and regional level. The Embassy of Switzerland in the Republic of North Macedonia together with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation over the past few years is committed to supporting sustainable regional development in the Republic of North Macedonia.

This week, the Ambassador Véronique Hulmann Marti visited the South-East Planning Region where she met the key partners in the region and got acquainted with the concrete results of projects funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at local and regional level.

The meeting was held in the Municipality of Strumica and was attended by the Director of the Centre for development of the South-East Planning region Zhulieta Gjurkova, the Mayor of Municipality of Strumica Kostadin Kostadinov, the President of the Council Marjan Daskalovski and the Secretary of the Municipality Aleksandar Odzakov where they discussed the current cooperation and the future plans.

In the South-East Planning Region, several projects funded by Swiss funds have been implemented so far, which have a direct impact on improving the quality of life, regional cooperation and promoting an innovative approach in providing services to all stakeholders. One of those projects is the project for restoration of the Strumica river basin, whose activities were aimed at increasing the competitiveness of agricultural production in the region and reducing its impact on the environment, through the introduction of modern, agro-environmental measures.

Also, with the direct participation of the citizens of the South-East region in a participatory way through the project “Sustainable and inclusive balanced regional development”, financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, four Day Care Centers for people with special needs were equipped with work equipment, 23 agro meteorological stations were placed, an Academy for reintegration of marginalized people was established and a Common Workplace as a way of strengthening the cooperation with the business sector were established.

The cooperation does not stop here and the Regional Forum sessions of the community are under implementation, whereas priorities for solving this year were the problems in the field of environmental protection and improving the tourist offer in the South-Еast region, which once again confirms the mutual further commitment for realization of new projects which are of interest for the citizens.

First forum session within the Regional Community Forums for 2020

The Centre for development of the South-East planning region (CDSEPR), in October, started the preparations for holding Regional Community Forums as a tool for identification, prioritization and preparation of project proposals for obtaining financial support from the Bureau for Balanced Regional Development Programme of the Regional Development Bureau and the Ministry of Local Self-Government of RNM. Based on the positive experience from the forum processes so far, within the project “Sustainable and inclusive balanced regional development”, which was realized by the Centres for development of planning regions with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and MLSG, it was decided participatory and transparent of decisions, with wide civic participation, to be practiced in providing support for project proposals from BRD and MLSG. Namely, the regional forum, as well as the compliance of the projects with the determined priorities in the programs for development of the planning regions and with the annual list of projects adopted by the Councils for development of the planning regions, will become a mandatory qualification criterion in the process of project application and use of available funds from the Programme for balanced regional development of BRD / MLSG.

According to the concept for implementation of regional forums, it is planned to hold two forum sessions where participants will select priority areas and areas of strategic goals of the region, identify problems, needs and challenges affecting the region and prioritize concept solutions prepared based on civic needs. However, due to the escalation of the COVID 19 pandemic and the large number of infected in the South-East region, only a few participants from the key partners accepted physical presence, due to which a decision was made to conduct the first forum session by conducting an electronic questionnaire.

From the analyzed results from the completion of the electronic questionnaire, the participants chose the following priority 2 areas and 2 sub-areas:

Area 1. Agriculture and rural development

Sub-areas:

1. Development of modern and functional infrastructure in villages and areas with specific development needs

2. Modernization and improvement of the competitiveness of the agricultural production

 

Area 2. Economy, investments, labor market, tourism

Sub-areas:

1. Development and promotion of the region as an attractive tourist destination

2. Development of entrepreneurial ecosystem and encouragement of entrepreneurship (incl. Women and youth)

The forum cycle of 2019 ended with the presentation of the results of the project “Agrometeorological stations for protection of agricultural crops and the environment”

The Centre for development of the South-East planning region on 23.09.2020 in Hotel Sirius in Strumica, following the protocols and recommendations of the Government for protection against Covid-19, organized the Fourth and last forum session of the Regional Community Forums cycle from 2019 within of the project “Sustainable and inclusive balanced regional development”.

On the fourth forum session the results of the project “Agrometeorological stations for protection of crops and the environment” were presented. This project was voted first on the list of priority projects in a participatory and transparent manner by the citizens of the South-East planning region at the Regional Forum Sessions 2019 which were organized under the Grant Scheme for investment projects 2019 funded by the Ministry of Local Self-Government and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The participants of this session had the opportunity to be informed about the course and process of realization of the selected project, the results achieved with the project and the recommendations sent by the forum for improving life in the wider community and the region.

The project “Agrometeorological stations for protection of agricultural crops and the environment” has been named one of the most innovative projects resulting from Regional Forum Sessions in 2019, and the success of this project is also evidenced by the fact that in 2020 two more Regional Centers will implement the same project in two other planning regions in the Republic of North Macedonia.

Regarding the other project proposals that emerged from the Regional Forums from 2019, Ms. Zhulieta Gjurkova, Manager of the CDSEPR, emphasized that they are of great importance for the Centre because they come from the citizens of the region and in the future efforts will be made for them to be funded.

All the necessary information that is measured and processed through the stations can be obtained at the website www.agrojug.mk as well as on the mobile application “Meteobot” where all 23 Agrometeorological stations in the region are mapped.