The Kingdom of Norway, which funds with 250,000 euros public call for development of the infrastructure in lesser developed areas in Montenegro, supports the enhancement of the quality of lives and inter-municipal cooperation – this was concluded during the informative session about this call which was held today in Podgorica.
The objective of this public call is the enhancement of the social inclusion through the improvement of the living conditions in underdeveloped municipalities in Montenegro through construction, reconstruction or renovation of public infrastructure. The project is divided in two lots, and local self-governments can apply individually or in partnership with their institutions or other municipalities.
“We are grateful to the Embassy of Norway for accepting our request for reallocation of funds within "Norway for You - Montenegro" project, so that the total budget of the call was enlarged from the originally planned 150,000 Euros, to 250,000 Euros. This call is important for support to the inter-municipal cooperation, so that local self-governments can jointly solve the issues they commonly share,“ said the Assistant for the international cooperation and European Integration to the Secretary-General of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro Vanja Starovlah.
The priority areas include water and waste management, energy efficiency in public buildings, facilities that contribute to tourism and economic potential, as well as educational, sports and cultural infrastructure.
“Norway supports the development of the lesser developed municipalities of Montenegro, because Norway has the experience with the distant areas of the country where the remain of the population needs to be encouraged. But, Norway faces only internal migrations, while the population from this part of the Western Balkans leaves their countries, which makes a significant loss in human capital. This is why we want through “Norway for You – Montenegro“ to provide support to the municipalities, mainly in the north of the country, so we enable youth to remain there, start their business and become successful,“ the Advisor with the Royal Norwegian Embassy Ivan Kuzminović said.
According to the “Norway for You – Montenegro“ Project Manager Armen Čekić, through this call, projects in a single municipality will be funded with the maximum of 30,000 Euros, while the inter-municipal projects can be funded with 50,000 Euros.
All the detailed criteria with the application documents are published on the website www.norveskazavas.me.
The "Norway for you - Montenegro" project aims to contribute to the balanced socio-economic development of Montenegro, through increasing employment opportunities, supporting social cohesion and improving local infrastructure in less developed municipalities of Montenegro. The project is funded by the Kingdom of Norway with EUR 1.4 million, and field activities are carried out by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).