The Cohesion Fund was launched with an allocation of €194 million in European funds with the aim of investing in the environment, including areas related to sustainable development and energy.
This was announced in a news conference by the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Chris Bonett. The investment from the Cohesion Fund will be aimed at promoting more sustainable urban mobility and the transition towards a carbon-free economy.
Infrastructural investment will be carried out in our road and port network known as TEN-T, in the transition to a more circular economy and investment in access and sustainable water management.
Dr Bonett announced that €7 million will be invested from these funds with the aim of continuing the investment of charging points for electric vehicles and related infrastructure around Malta and Gozo.
This investment will be in line with a comprehensive plan related to the transition towards the decarbonisation of transport.
This investment is in line with the Green Cars Initiative, as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan which seeks to improve the development of new and sustainable forms of road transport by introducing alternative fuels , including the use of less polluting vehicles.
A restricted call for applications will therefore be issued to the relevant ministries that are responsible for the transport and energy sectors to implement the respective interventions proposed.
The Managing Authority shall invite the responsible authorities to submit an application that will also be assessed by the Project Selection Committee to ensure good quality proposals according to the criteria as approved by the Monitoring Committee for the selection of operations.
Parliamentary Secretary Bonett said that the Cohesion Fund is instrumental for our country to continue making more sustainable investments. “For this government, sustainability is not only more open and green spaces, but also addresses recycling and waste management, cleaner energy and cleaner transport – all aspects that we will be addressing in this the operational program for Malta to be more sustainable and we carry out more projects with European funds that make a difference in our country,” concluded Dr Bonett.
