Bor Regional Development Project

closed

The development objective of the Bor Regional Development Project is to support the Government of Serbia's (GoS) efforts to revive the depressed Bor region through: (i) dealing with urgent environmental and social legacy issues arising from mining sector restructuring; and (ii) fostering new sources of economic growth and job creation in the region. The project has 3 components: 1) Environmental Management and Remediation Component, which will support a) strengthening the capacity of the GoS to manage the past environmental liabilities remaining the responsibility of the state following the privatization of RTB Bor assets; b) strengthening the capacity of the GoS to monitor the compliance of the new owner of Rudarsko-Topionicarski Basen (RTB) Bor mining and smelting assets with Serbian environmental norms; and, c) remediation of the most pressing environmental problems remaining within state responsibility, as identified by the recent Environmental Impact Assessment; 2) Socio-Economic Regeneration Component which will support the improved labor redeployment programs and employment services aimed at RTB Bor redundant workers and unemployed population of the Bor region, and will promote the development of the private sector in the region; and 3) Project Implementation and Evaluation Component which will support a) Project Management Unit to finance the salaries and operational costs of a qualified Project Management Unit (PMU), and b) Impact Monitoring and Evaluation to be undertaken at a mid-tern and at the end of the project.