The Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFLA) has announced an open call for project proposals, inviting municipalities to apply for European Union (EU) funding to develop infrastructure and improve accessibility in business areas, thereby facilitating the transition to a climate-neutral economy. The available Just Transition Fund (JTF) financing for this round is 46 million euros.
Developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM), the EU programme has been established to develop public business infrastructure, mitigating the negative socio-economic impacts in regions most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy.
The EU funding programme will support projects envisaged in municipal development plans concerning degraded historical peat extraction sites, industrial areas, as well as existing and new business development territories.
With JTF support, it will be possible to install or increase the capacity of industrial utility connections (including heating, water supply, and electricity), develop road transport infrastructure, construct buildings for business purposes, improve territories, purchase equipment for the production or storage of energy from renewable sources, perform the remediation of degraded ecosystems, and implement other measures.
It is planned that, by the end of 2029, the implementation of these projects in the developed public infrastructure sites will benefit at least 25 enterprises, providing more than 420 jobs.
The funding available in the first round is 54,168,344 euros, including JTF funding of 46,043,092 euros and national funding of at least 8,125,252 euros. The distribution of funding by statistical regions:
- For the implementation of projects in the Kurzeme statistical region – 10,267,610 euros in JTF and national funding of at least 1,811,931 euros;
- For the implementation of projects in the Zemgale statistical region – 10,635,954 euros in JTF funding and national funding of at least 1,876,933 euros;
- For the implementation of projects in the Vidzeme statistical region – 11,004,299 euros in JTF funding and national funding of at least 1,941,935 euros;
- For the implementation of projects in the Latgale statistical region – 14,135,229 euros in JTF funding and national funding of at least 2,494,453 euros.
Applications for the project selection can be submitted by municipalities located in the Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale statistical regions, as well as their institutions, capital companies, or special economic zone administrations. Each municipality may submit no more than two projects, with each project planning to attract JTF support ranging from 200 thousand to 5 million euros.
CFLA will accept project applications from 27 December of this year until 17 April 2024. The project selection documentation is published on cfla.gov.lv. An online seminar regarding project selection queries is scheduled for 24 January 2024.
EU funding support is provided within the framework of the EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027 developed by VARAM, specifically under objective 6.1.1 "Mitigating the economic, social and environmental consequences of the transition to climate neutrality in the most affected regions", measure 6.1.1.3. "Support for the development of public infrastructure required for business, promoting the transition to a climate-neutral economy".
Information regarding all project selections is available in the “Project selections” section of the CFLA website.