January 11, 2016
On 11 February, the Regional Urban Development Fund (RUDF) held a cocktail party to celebrate the successful negotiation of funds to be allocated in the first investment cycle under the JESSICA initiative, which is part of the Operational Programme for Regional Development 2007-2013. The event was honoured by the attendance of the Bank’s management, the Minister of Regional Development Mrs. Denitsa Nikolova, the management of the new Fund created to manage financial instruments in Bulgaria, Sofia’s Sustainable Urban Development Fund, as well as customers, journalists and colleagues from the Bank.
After reviewing more than 150 project ideas over the past 5 years, RUDF and Societe Generale Expressbank funded 24 projects worth more than BGN 139 million in Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Ruse and Pleven.
So far, 8 projects have been completed and 70% of the funds granted for management have been absorbed. The remainder should be absorbed by 30 October 2016.
The Fund has another reason to celebrate too. At the end 2015, an agreement was signed, allowing the money paid back by the projects to be reinvested in new urban projects under the familiar regulation. The team also has ambitions to apply for fund manager of some of the financial instruments in the new programming period 2014 – 2020.
Find out more – gradat.bg