Poland to channel EUR 55 mln to post-communist degraded areas
Poland will support areas that during communist times depended on collective farms, the so-called PGRs, with a PLN 250-million fund, the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, announced on Wednesday.
The State Agricultural Farms (PGR) once dominated large parts of Poland during the communist era, but since the demise of the one-party state these areas have been marred by high unemployment and poor prospects.
"Development must mean that the demons (...) of the past must go into oblivion,” Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference on Friday. “The lack of support for the post-PGR areas was undoubtedly one of the Achilles' heels in the development of post-communist Poland.
"Today, at the onset of 2021, we're launching a new PLN 250-mln programme of support for the post-PGR areas," he continued, adding that the blighted municipalities can file applications for funding ranging from PLN 50,000 to PLN 5 mln (EUR 11,047-EUR 1.1 mln).
The funds can be spent on road, water and sewage infrastructure as well on day-care centres, libraries, playgrounds and recreational areas. (PAP)
