Two grant agreements whose total value exceeds €20 million were signed in Split on Tuesday. Cohesion Fund contributions will be used to finance the purchase of 47 new buses and the introduction of an intelligent transport system in the city of Split traffic area.
During the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković to the Split-Dalmatia County, two grant agreements were signed in Split, whose total value exceeds €20 million.
First, the Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković and the Director of the Central Finance and Contracting Agency Tomislav Petric signed an agreement granting €9.9 million with the President of the “Promet” City Company Miroslav Delić. The Cohesion Fund contribution will cover 85% of the purchase cost for 47 new buses – a third of the rolling stock operating in Split. The delivery of new buses is scheduled prior to the end of 2023. As they start rolling in, an equal number of obsolete high-emissions vehicles will become a thing of the past.
Following the first signing, the mayor of the City of Split, Andro Krstulović Opara, signed another grant agreement with Minister Butković and Director Petrica. The grant in the amount of €10.9 million will enable the introduction of an intelligent transport system (ITS) in the traffic area of the city of Split, which includes the neighbouring Solin. For the purpose of implementing the demanding project, the City of Split is partnered with Port Authority Split, the County Road Administration for the Split-Dalmatia County, Croatian Roads and the City of Solin.
The intelligent transport system brings a number of improvements for road users based on improved information management. The core of the Split system is a video surveillance system with integrated video analytics, which will be deployed at 28 intersections. The collected data will be used to optimize traffic lights according to traffic load and, e.g. to assign priority to public transport vehicles and emergency services. Software and application-based digital solutions will provide users with insight into all traffic information. The system will be managed from the premises of the Traffic Police Station in Dubrovačka Street.
The rolling stock renewal and intelligent transport system projects in Split were awarded EU grants through the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020.” The calls for proposals were conducted by the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. The projects are aimed at improving the quality of public urban transport in order to make it more appealing for citizens.