17.10.2025.
The director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Luka Balen, and his associates visited the location of the former company PPK Velebit in Gospić, where the company Tipos Resurs illegally stored and buried waste."The competent institutions have informed us that the conditions have been met for the implementation of remediation activities on the location of the illegal landfill in Gospić. As the minister of environmental protection and green transition, Marija Vučković, had announced from the outset, the Fund will start with project activities immediately, and we will publish, as soon as possible and after analysing all available materials, a public tender for the selection of contractors," said director Balen.
In the meantime, air and water quality tests are regularly carried out in Gospić, and the measurements so far have not shown any deviations that would be dangerous to human health. At the request of Lika-Senj County, the Fund concluded an agreement with the County in May on co-financing the implementation of air quality testing and measurement activities carried out by the Public Health Institute of Split-Dalmatia County. Also, the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute continuously monitors surface and groundwater quality.
The Fund expressed their appreciation for the concerns the citizens of Gospić have, but it was necessary for all legal prerequisites to be created so that remediation could start. Just like the Fund initiated remediation activities on the landfills in Pazin and Samobor, Gospić will now take priority. Other locations in Poznanovec, Benkovac and Lovinac will not be overlooked either. The goal is to ensure a safe, clean and healthy environment for all citizens. Initially, the Fund allocated EUR 30 million for the remediation of these dumpsites, which the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition included in the Waste Management Plan for the period 2023-2028, specifically so as to protect the public interest and human health.
Activities in Gospić, and other locations across Croatia, confirm that institutions are taking a systematic approach to solving environmental problems inherited from the past. In cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, local government and professional institutions, the Fund continues to do everything necessary to remediate these six illegal landfills.
In addition to the activities related to the remediation of the six locations where waste was illegally dumped, all other waste management projects are also being continuously implemented. Regarding Gospić, the Fund approved 1.2 million euros to the utility company Komunalac Gospić for the construction of the Rakitovac transfer station, which will be part of the integrated waste management system of Zadar and part of Lika-Senj County. Several days earlier, the Fund approved EUR 104,000 to Gospić for the implementation of the project the town applied to the public call for the remediation of dumpsites. All these activities are aimed at achieving a more efficient and regulated waste management system at the level of the city, and the entire Lika-Senj County.
