Up to €282 million for the Savinjsko-Šaleška region: Government adopts restructuring act

After the government session, the Minister for Cohesion and Regional Development, Dr. Aleksander Jevšek, emphasised: “After exiting coal, we want the act to serve as a new driver of development for the SAŠA coal region. We want the region to remain attractive for people. We aim to ensure that no one is left behind or pushed aside during the transition to a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economy and society. Therefore, the act brings measures to the SAŠA region to promote economic growth, create new and maintain existing jobs, create an attractive and healthy living environment, establish development infrastructure, and mitigate the negative effects of the early closure of the Velenje Coal Mine and the ending of coal use as fuel in the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant.”

The act specifies measures for developmental restructuring:

Developmental restructuring programme for the SAŠA coal region in the fields of economy, energy, environment, and social cohesion:

• The act stipulates that the government shall adopt the Developmental Restructuring Programme for the SAŠA coal region for the periods 2026–2030 and 2031–2035, including projects or instruments for developmental restructuring, their timeline and financial framework for each area, and programme monitoring.

Strategic sustainable development projects:

• renovation of the district heating system in the Šaleška dolina valley,
• conversion of the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant (TEŠ) energy site to renewable energy sources,
• strategic project Valley of start-ups and fast-growing companies,
• preservation of the operation of the Coal Mining Museum of Slovenia and development of the cultural and creative sector.

According to Minister Jevšek, this is a horizontal act. All relevant ministries participated in the formulation of measures and will later implement individual measures and monitor their execution. Funds for implementing this act in the period 2026–2035 will be provided from Slovenia’s EU Cohesion Policy Programme, the state budget within the financial plans of the competent ministries, and from the budgets of municipalities in the SAŠA coal region, totalling up to €282,225,000.

The measures defined in this act complement those already being implemented or planned under the Act on the Gradual Closure of the Velenje Coal Mine, the regulations on transitional financing for an accelerated and just coal phase-out, and the Territorial Just Transition Plan for the SAŠA coal region, which has been approved by the European Commission as part of Slovenia’s EU Cohesion Policy Programme, said Minister Jevšek.

“I would like to emphasise that the intensive restructuring of the SAŠA region has already been underway for some time, with the Just Transition Fund support under the European Cohesion Policy. The Fund was established to help coal regions, which have been economic growth engines for decades, enter a new phase of green technologies, low-carbon production, and energy efficiency. Numerous projects supported under the European Cohesion Policy are underway – from the northern section of the Third Development Axis, construction of economic-business infrastructure, incubators to the transformation of district heating in the Šaleška dolina valley and other smaller projects. Their total value currently exceeds €190 million,” concluded Minister Jevšek.