Commissioner Elisa Ferreira, responsible for Regional and Urban Policy, Paloma Aba Garrote, Director of CINEA (the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency) and George Kasapidis, Regional Governor of the Greek region of Western Macedonia are pleased to announce that the Socioeconomic Transition of Western Macedonia project has officially entered into force on the 27th of October with the signing of a Grant Agreement by all parties.
This is the first project supported under the new Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF), which with the Just Transition Fund and the Just Transition scheme of InvestEU forms the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM).
The project will support financing sustainable investments worth EUR 80.7 million, helping Western Macedonia in its transition away from carbon intensive activities, such as lignite mining and its combustion in coal-fired power plants. Under the agreement, the PSLF offers a grant worth EUR 14.5 million, which the European Investment Bank (EIB) complements with a loan of EUR 58 million.
The project will send a positive signal regarding the region’s ability to stimulate the economy and deliver a just transition. The initiative coordinated by the region of Western Macedonia brings together 15 projects in six municipalities (Argos Orestikou, Kozani, Kastoria, Florina, Eordaia and Kastoria), all united towards achieving the common objective of reducing inequalities among people and places within the region by:
- enhancing the economic diversification of the region,
- increasing energy efficiency of public infrastructure and reducing energy cost,
- upgrading cultural and tourism infrastructure,
- improving healthcare infrastructure,
- upgrading road intra-regional connectivity and enhancing road safety.
The project is in line with the Just Transition Territorial Plan of the Western Macedonia region that will support a Just Transition after the closure of the lignite industry and improve regional infrastructure in the sectors of energy, transport, health, culture and tourism.