At its 3rd meeting, the Regional Monitoring Committee (RMC) had to decide on a total of 15 municipal projects. In Schönbach, the committee met for the first time under the leadership of its chairman Bernd Lange, District Administrator of the Görlitz district. He had taken over the baton from Birgit Weber at the end of the year, as the chairmanship in Lusatia changes annually between the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz.
Of the projects presented, all those with a total volume of around 71 million euros (federal funds) were approved and prioritized at the Kulturfabrik in Schönbach. Once again, the focus of the projects was on the areas of public welfare and tourism and business-related infrastructure, in order to keep people in the region but also to be able to convince newcomers of Lusatia.
Four projects from Hoyerswerda received positive feedback:
> Development of the Lausitz health region – innovative medical technology as a driving force
> Building and Living Center
> Extension of the local public transport services of the city of Hoyerswerda by using modern electric buses”
> Subproject “Wirtschaftshof” of the zoo concept
Bernd Lange: “We all know that our region is facing enormous upheaval and that we must do everything we can to stop the shortage of skilled workers in the region or eliminate it. To this end, we as a region want to set attractive incentives and have today adopted plans that will help us with this gigantic task that lies ahead.” The company also hopes to convince companies and investors to locate in the region by implementing the numerous projects. “If an entrepreneur sees that people feel comfortable in the region, enjoy living here and can live well here, then that is a very decisive factor nowadays in the decision-making process regarding a company headquarters. Giving Lusatia a forward-looking and modern face is of enormous importance for structural change in the region and was also at the heart of our decisions today,” explains Lange.
First projects from previous RBA meetings are being implemented
In a meeting that lasted several hours, the members of the RBA exchanged information about new projects, but also took stock of the projects that had been voted on in the first meetings. Lange: “I can assure you that all members of the RBA devote themselves intensively and with great dedication to the task assigned to them, and sometimes even question things critically. I perceive enormous commitment and heart and soul. We are all very concerned about the region and its future, and if we have met today in Schönbach, then we are of course pleased that we can be guests here in a community that was able to rejoice last week over a positive funding decision. Last week, the Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB) assured Schönbach of the requested funds for the extension of the cycle path, so that tourism in the region can really be given a boost. The fact that projects that we have discussed and decided on in recent meetings can now be implemented should encourage us and drive us to continue the process of transformation.”
Background:
The 15 municipal projects on which decisions have been made today within the framework of the RBA have been qualified and prioritized in accordance with the “Funding Guidelines for Grants under the Coal Regions Investment Act – RL InvKG”. The Regional Monitoring Committee has the core task of participating in the project selection process. The projects approved by the RBA will now be submitted to the Free State of Saxony and the Federal Government for a final decision. The next meeting of the RBA in Lusatia is scheduled for November 2, 2022. The project proposals pre-screened by the counties, which are to reach this 4th RBA according to the wishes of the project executing agency, had to be submitted to the Saxon Agency for Structural Development (SAS) by May 6, 2022 at the latest. Project proposals from the counties, which must be pre-screened by the SAS in cooperation with the Saxony State Directorate, had to be submitted to the SAS no later than April 1, 2022. Project proposals received by the SAS after these deadlines will be processed and qualified for the following meetings.
Bernd Lange: “There is still a lot of work ahead of us if we want to develop the structural change into a success story, and of course we will sometimes have obstacles in the way that need to be removed in order to achieve the goal in the end. But I am firmly convinced that Lusatia has what it takes to play a wonderful role in the heart of Europe. When I see the creativity and verve with which the people here go about their work, it makes me optimistic.”
Source: https://www.medienservice.sachsen.de/medien/news/1046324
Overview of the SAS to the positively decided projects (PDF)
