The final conference of the project “GreenerSites – Environmental rehabilitation of brownfield site in Central Europe” was held at the City Hall.

The aim of the project, launched in 2016, was to improve the environmental management system of unused or underused industrial areas, where the aquired outcomes will serve as a basis for new projects and investments in brownfield areas.

During the conference, the acquired knowledge and skills on an integrated approach to environmental management of brownfield areas, strengthening the capacity of the public sector in planning and implementing rehabilitation of these areas were summarized and discussions were held on adopting quality and sustainable measures and tools for sustainable environmental planning. After the exhibition and discussion part, the conference participants visited the former INA refinery in Mlaka.

The Mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, welcomed the participants, saying that the City has invested a lot of effort in the revitalization of the area of ​​industrial heritage, which will become the main points of the project Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture. Noting that the transition period Rijeka went through left abandoned industrial buildings, Obersnel pointed out that areas like Mlaka, where an oil refinery once operated, have great investment potential that opens up opportunities to improve access to the coastal part of the city for Rijeka residents.

In addition to the City of Rijeka and the Port of Rijeka Authority, nine other partner institutions participated in the GreenerSites project: City of Venice, Port of Venice Authority, Veneto Region (Italy), Municipality of Celje (Slovenia), City of Bydgoszcz, Municipality of Solec Kujawsky, Mazovia Development Agency Poland) and the Ministry of Regional Development and Transport Saxony Anhalt and ISW – Institute for Structural Policy and Economic Development (Germany).

“GreenerSites” is co-financed from the Interreg Central Europe program, and the value of the project is 3.8 million euros, with the City of Rijeka allocating 255 thousand Euros from its budget.