Programme for Development of Skopje Planning Region 2015 - 2019
Table of Contents
Introduction ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Development characteristics of the planning region ...... 5 Location and urbanisation ...... 5 Demographic development ...... 6 Economic characteristics ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Social development ...... 15 Tourism ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Agriculture ...... 31 Infrastructure ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Transport infrastructure ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Road infrastructure ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Railway infrastructure ...... 40 Air traffic...... 42 Energy infrastructure ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Environment ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Solid waste ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Water ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Water supply ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Wastewater ...... 54 Water quality ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Soil ...... 58 Industrial contamination ...... 58 Erosion ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Air ...... 62 Nature ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Planning ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Vision ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Mid-term goal 1...... 69 Mid-term goal 2 ...... 84 Mid-term goal 3 ...... 94 Mid-term goal 4 ...... 106 Financing the implementation of the Development Programme ...... 118
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Introduction
The Law on Balanced Regional Development of the Republic of Macedonia defines the Programme for Development of Skopje Planning Region as a mid-term strategic document, outlining the mid-term goals, priorities and measures so as to achieve development. The methodology for development of the programme, as well as the programme contents, is stipulated in the Rulebook on the Methodology for Preparation of Planning Documents for Regional Development (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, No. 102 of 13.08.2009).
The elaboration of the Programme for Development of Skopje Planning Region 2015-2019 was initiated in September 2014, and was preceded by a revision of the Strategy for Regional Development of the Republic of Macedonia. The development of the Programme was coordinated by the Centre for Development of Skopje Planning Region. During the development of the Programme, 6 workshops were held which were attended by representatives of local self- governments from Skopje region, representatives of the non-governmental sector, ministries and national institutions, local and national public enterprises, as well as representatives of the business sector. Six strategic areas were defined regarding the development of the Programme: transport and infrastructure, agriculture and rural development, economy and investments, environment, as well as tourism and culture, and education and social policy.
Experiences and know-how acquired during the process of implementation of the previous programme were used in the elaboration of the Programme, as well as experiences gathered in the process of drafting other strategic documents.
The elaboration of the Programme commenced by collecting data, whereby the database of the State Statistical Office was used, especially the part devoted to regions, as well as the respective report – Regions in Macedonia, but also existing strategic documents relating to regional development and to Skopje Planning Region. The draft version of the revised Strategy for Regional Development of the Republic of Macedonia 2009 – 2019 was also analysed in order to have an
3 overview of the situation of Skopje Planning Region in compliance with the new regional development directions as set forth by the Strategy‟s revision.
In cooperation with the Centre for Development of Skopje Planning Region, contracted experts also collected and analysed all existing strategic and action planning documents for the areas subject to this analysis, both on national level and on regional and municipal level.
Special attention was paid to findings and recommendations based on the evaluation of the fulfilment of the previous programme for development of the region, that is to say, to the programme implementation impact analysis with regard to the results it produced in terms of regional development and in accordance with the initially set priorities therein. In addition, analysis of the annual planning documents was also performed, that is, of the annual reports on the implementation of the previous programme and of the comparison between what was achieved vs. what was planned in the individual sectors.
The first part of the Programme for Development of Skopje Planning Region 2015 – 2019 covers the development characteristics of the region, the second part encompasses the vision, mid-term goals, priorities and measures, as well as benchmarks on measuring the effect of this programme‟s implementation, and in the end, possible financing sources are provided.
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1. Development characteristics
1.1. Location and urbanisation
Skopje Planning Region comprises the basin of Skopje Valley and covers a total area of 1,812 km2 or 7% of the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.1 This region encompasses 17 municipalities, 10 of which are a part of the City of Skopje as a special unit of local self-government. 142 populated areas are located in the region, 141 of which are rural settlements. Population density amounts to 319 inhabitants/km2 and is four times higher than the national average (81 inhabitants/km2). Approximately 88% of the population in the region is concentrated in the City of Skopje, that is to say, 25.1% of the total population in the country, which is an indication of enormous concentration of population in Skopje agglomeration.
Table 1. Municipalities in Skopje Planning Region
Municipality Area km2 Inhabitants/ Populated Share (in %) of urban population in the km2 areas total population
0 City of Skopje 571,46 945 52
1 Aerodrom 21,85 1 96.6
2 Butel 54,79 4 74.0
3 Gazi Baba 110,86 13 60.3
4 Gjorche Petrov 66,93 6 78.9
5 Karposh 35,21 2 97.0
6 Kisela Voda 34,24 2 82.8
7 Saraj 229,06 22 0,00
8 Centar 7,52 1 100.0
9 Chair 3,52 1 100.0
10 Shuto Orizari 7,48 1 97.9
11 Arachinovo 38 349 4 0
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12 Zelenikovo 177 26 14 0
13 Ilinden 97 173 12 0
14 Petrovec 202 44 16 0
15 Sopishte 222 62 13 0
16 Studenichani 276 75 19 0
17 Chucher-Sandevo 236 41 12 0
Total 1812 339 142 71.8 Source: State Statistical Office, population estimation 31.12.2013
1.2. Demographic development According to the data of the State Statistical Office, Skopje region had a total population of 614,254 inhabitants in 2013. Nevertheless, estimations say that the figure is higher daily as a result of the fact that a large number of inhabitants from other regions often reside in Skopje region due to various reasons, such as studying, work, etc. In this context, during the last three years, Skopje region marked the highest growth in population compared to other regions in the country. Moreover, population density also marked growth these years and amounted to 337.8 in the year of 2013. This is convincingly the most populated region in the Republic of Macedonia, calculated per land area, having an even more than 10 times higher density than Vardar region.
Table 2. Population 2010-2013
Year Republic of Macedonia Skopje region
2010 2057284 604 298
2011 2059794 607 502
2012 2062294 610 775
2013 2065769 614 254
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
It is interesting to notice higher representation of women than men which makes Skopje region unique in the country with such a gender structure.
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In accordance with the age dependency ratio, Skopje region has the highest encumbrance of working-age population. The ratio marks an upward trend on annual level, which indicates a possibility for certain social needs to arise as a result of changes in the age population structure. Namely, further increase in this ratio might cause higher social expenses for the state (including for pensions) on the one hand, and a greater burden for the active working-age population on the other.
The fertility rate has marked a mild increase over the last few years in most of the regions in the Republic of Macedonia. This might be due to various reasons, such as a larger number of women having children at a higher age, government policies of giving birth incentives to the population, etc. However, taking into consideration that in Skopje region, compared to all others, the mother - when giving birth to her first child, and the bride - when concluding her first marriage, is at the highest age (basic demographic indicators of the State Statistical Office), it is evident that women in the region decide to form a family and have children at a later stage, which might also be one of the key factors for the mild increase in the fertility rate.
Skopje region has an exceptionally positive net migration. The majority of inhabitants decide to migrate to Skopje region for the purposes of education and/or for family reasons. The trend of internal and external migration on the level of Skopje region and on national level bears similar characteristics.
Table 3. Internal migration, immigrated citizens, on the level of Skopje region and of the Republic of Macedonia
2010 2011 2012 2013
Republic of Macedonia 2 976 3 326 3 641 3 191
Skopje region 964 1 245 1 515 1 341
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
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Remark: Data refer to a total of immigrated-emigrated citizens in the Republic of Macedonia, but data on immigration-emigration within the same region are not presented.
Table 4. External migration, immigrated citizens, on the level of Skopje region and of the Republic of Macedonia
2010 2011 2012 2013
Republic of Macedonia 1 659 2 096 2 468 2 431
Skopje region 744 823 1 010 903
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
Net migration within the Republic of Macedonia in Skopje municipalities shows much higher figures compared to the majority of other municipalities in the country. In Skopje municipalities of Aerodrom, Karposh, Kisela Voda and Centar, there are many more people immigrating, than emigrating, that is to say, these are municipalities with the most positive net migration in absolute figures. More than one third of the internal migration (immigrated people from another municipality) applies to the 10 most urban Skopje municipalities (Aerodrom, Butel, Gazi Baba, Gjorche Petrov, Karposh, Kisela Voda, Saraj, Centar, Chair, Shuto Orizari).
In spite of the exceptionally positive net migration of Skopje region, when it comes to territorial dislocation, the number of people emigrating to the capital of the country from a rural area has significantly decreased. Namely, during the period 2005-2011, the number of people who were a part of such a migration decreased nearly five-fold. In addition, taking into account the urban character of Skopje region, it has the least agricultural area at its disposal compared to the remaining regions in the Republic of Macedonia.
1.3. Economic characteristics
Skopje region is the most developed region in the Republic of Macedonia with a gross domestic product of 202,473.9 million MKD, where nearly a half of the total GDP of the country is generated. Even though in the period following the world
8 economic crisis the region‟s GDP experienced stagnation, even a small decline, in 2012 it still marked an increase of nearly 4% compared to the year of 2011.
Table 5. Gross domestic product, Skopje region 2008-2012
Year Gross domestic product in millions Share in GDP on the level of the of Denars Republic of Macedonia (%)
2008 187601 45.56
2009 187063 45.54
2010 189728 43.70
2011 194823 42.37
2012 202474 44.15
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
With a gross domestic product per capita of 332,393.00 MKD in 2012, Skopje region exceeded the GDP per capita average of the Republic of Macedonia by approximately 50%. For years now, the GDP per capita in Skopje region has marked a steady growth, with the exception of the year of 2009 which was marked by the world economic crisis.
Diagram 1: Gross domestic product per capita, 2008/2012
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In line with the decision on classification of planning regions according to their level of development for the period from 2013 to 2017 (Official Gazette, No. 88/2013), Skopje region has a share of only 7.2% in the distribution of funds for stimulating balanced regional development, which is owing to its good economic performance. Namely, Skopje region has a development index greater by over 50% than any other region in the Republic of Macedonia and the highest social index of 147.7%. Compared to the Northeast region, this is a 5 times higher economic and social index.
The gross value added of Skopje region is significantly higher than that of any other region in the Republic of Macedonia. As a comparison, second-ranked region according to the gross value added is Pelagonia region, which has an even 4 times lower absolute value than that of Skopje region. The following sectors have the highest representation in the capital: “Information and communication” and “Financial and insurance activities”, where the share of Skopje region in the total gross value added of these two sectors is over 85%. On the other hand, a confirmation of the urban character of Skopje region is the information that in 2012, the share in the total gross value added on the level of the Republic of Macedonia in the sector of “Agriculture, forestry, fisheries” amounted only to 7.4%.
The table below gives an account of the contribution of various sectors to the gross value added of the most developed region in the Republic of Macedonia.
Table 6. Gross value added according to the activity sector in Skopje region, 2010-2012
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Share in the total gross Gross value added in Skopje value added on the level of region, expressed in the Republic of Macedonia millions of Denars (%)
Activity Sector 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012
Total gross value added 166580 170503 174534 43.7 42.4 44.1
Agriculture, forestry; fisheries 3407 3616 3028 7.8 8.2 7.4
Mining and quarrying; processing industry; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, water supply, waste management, remediation 26624 27762 23133 32.5 31.9 33 activities
Construction 11853 10900 12872 49.6 36.4 41.3
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; 39877 39930 42493 51.7 47.9 49.8 accommodation establishments and food service activities
Information and communication 16769 17606 14216 91 92.7 90.4
Financial and insurance activities 8191 9652 11641 83.3 84.7 85.5
Real estate activities; imputed rents 10769 10927 17669 35.3 35 37.3
Professional, scientific and technical activities; 9426 10237 10796 59.8 67.8 73.6 administrative and support service activities
Public administration and defence; compulsory social insurance; education; human health and 32462 32961 33210 48.6 48.7 50.2 social work activities
Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service 7202 6911 5475 54 49.9 52.4 activities
Source: Data taken from the State Statistical Office
Taking into consideration that Skopje region is the most populous region, it is understandable that most of the job openings are created precisely in that region. Even though in absolute terms the number of vacant posts is the greatest in Skopje region, according to the data on the second quarter of 2014, the rate of vacant posts amounts to only 0.98%, which is the second lowest rate following Polog region.
The largest share of business activity happens exactly in Skopje region. Over 60% of larger enterprises are located here, there is the greatest participation of active business entities, as well as the largest number of enterprises being founded (almost 40% in 2012), but also the largest number of enterprises being
11 closed down (over 40% in 2010). In the period between 2011 and 2013, there was a visible growth in the number of all business entities listing more than 10 employees.
Diagram 2. Number of active business entities according to the number of employees, 2013
Total
Total
Skopje region Republic of Macedonia
In the period 2010-2012, the total gross fixed capital formation in Skopje region marked a growth of over 40%. To a large extent, this is as a result of the growth of investments in the sectors “Mining and quarrying; processing industry; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, water supply, waste management, remediation activities”, “Financial and insurance activities” and “Real estate activities, imputed rents”. The share in the total gross fixed capital formation on the level of the Republic of Macedonia is exceptionally high, it amounts to 61.63% and it comparatively exceeds the values of all other regions.
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Gross fixed capital formation
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries Diagram 3. Gross fixed capital formation according to
the activity sector in Skopje region, 2010-2012
Mining and quarrying; processing industry; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply; water supply, waste management, remediation activities
Construction
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation capacities and food service activities
Information and communication
Financial and insurance activities
Real estate activities; imputed rents
Professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities
Public administration and defence; compulsory social insurance; education; human health and social work activities
Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities
Labour force market
As expected, according to the level of development of Skopje region and its business activity, this region has the greatest share of working-age population compared to any other region. Almost one third of the working-age population is concentrated in Skopje region. The activity rate is almost as the average on the level of the Republic of Macedonia; it amounts to 55.3% and has been relatively steady over the last few years. The same features are also characterising the employment and unemployment rates, that is to say, what applies on the level of Skopje region, also mainly corresponds to the average on the level of the Republic of Macedonia. It is worth underlining that the unemployment rate has marked a significant decline over these past few years. Namely, in 2008, the unemployment rate in Skopje region was 37.3%, whereas in 2013 it amounted to 29.3%.
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Table 7. Activity rate of the population in Skopje region aged 15 years and over
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Working-age population 473.148 475.842 478.774 481.379 485.541 487.240 (persons)
Activity rate 53.1 54.4 54.7 56.1 55.3 55.3
Employment rate 33.3 36.2 36.7 38.9 38 39.1
Unemployment rate 37.3 33.5 33 30.7 31.3 29.3
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
Regarding the gender structure of unemployed people, there are no significant differences in the unemployment rate among men and among women. In 2013, it amounted to 30% among men, whereas 28.3% among women. It is interesting to note that in the rural areas of Skopje region, the unemployment rate among men significantly declined (from 40.2% in 2012 to 33% in 2013), whereas among women living in rural areas for the same period it marked an upward trend, from 31.1% in 2012 to 34.5% in 2013.
Table 8. Unemployment rate on the level of Skopje region and of the Republic of Macedonia, 2013
Republic of Macedonia (%) Skopje region (%)
Total 29 29.3
Men 29 30
Women 29 28.3
Urban 30.6 27.8
Men 30.8 28.6
Women 30.4 26.8
Rural 26.7 33.4
Men 26.7 33
Women 26.6 34.5
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
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Labour productivity in Skopje region exceeds labour productivity measured on the level of the Republic of Macedonia. In 2012, labour in Skopje region was more productive by 55% than the overall labour on national level. As depicted in the diagram below, the period 2008-2011 was unfavourable for the economy in Skopje region, where labour productivity was in decline. However, during the following year it was already on the rise, which was the situation under conditions when labour productivity on the level of the Republic of Macedonia was in decline.
Diagram 4. Labour productivity, 2008-2012
Labour productivity in Skopje region (GDP per hour worked)
Labour productivity in the Republic of Macedonia (GDP per hour worked)
1.4. Social development
Under population census in 2002, Skopje region had 163,612 households. Within the period 2010-2012, the number of households – recipients of social financial assistance marked a decline in all of the regions of the Republic of Macedonia, and it is understandable that, in line with its size, Skopje region numbers most of those types of households. Taking into consideration the downward trend within all regions, the share in the total number of households – recipients of social
15 financial assistance did not mark any higher oscillations. Regarding the gender structure of the heads of these households, approximately one fourth of them in Skopje region are women.
Table 9. Recipients of social financial assistance on the level of Skopje region, 2010-2012
Number of Share in the total Household members Share in the total number of households number of households (together with the head) household members in RM in RM (%) (%)
2010 11314 25.18 55542 31.48
2011 9079 24.54 49592 32.33
2012 8441 25.03 41529 31.10
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
In 2013, the gross salary in Skopje region was almost at the same level as in the year of 2011 and amounted to 36,187.00 MKD. In the same period, the average gross salary on the level of the Republic of Macedonia noted a mild increase of approximately 1%.
There are 11 halls of residence in Skopje region (6 of which are halls of residence for university students) for pupils and students out of a total of 38 in the country. In 2012/ 2013, over 64% of the total number of pupils and students were registered.
With regard to child protection, Skopje region is characteristic for the considerable number of children in kindergartens. Obviously, this region faces the greatest need for this type of child care. From year to year, the number of children is on the rise, which also has its effect on the number of employees in these institutions.
Table 10. Children and employees in child care and educational institutions – kindergartens, 2011-2013
Skopje region Republic of Macedonia
Children Employees Children Employees
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2011 11799 1663 25056 3815
2012 12663 1725 26885 3937
2013 13842 1853 29113 4087
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
Relating to the percentage of children going to a kindergarten, Skopje region takes second place, immediately behind the East region. In the period 2011- 2013, an upward trend is visible, both on the level of Skopje region and on the level of the Republic of Macedonia. In addition, the percentage of recipients of child care allowance, for children up to 18 years of age, is below the country‟s average.
Table 11. Social and child protection, 2011-2013
Skopje region
2011 2012 2013
Children aged 0 to 5 in kindergartens (%) 23.50 26.30 29.50
Recipients of child care allowance, children up to 18 years of 2.50 2.40 2.40 age (%)
Recipients of special allowance, people up to 26 years of age 1 1 1 (%)
Households – recipients of social financial assistance aged 18+ 19.20 17.70 17.70 (per 000 population)
Republic of Macedonia
2011 2012 2013
Children aged 0 to 5 in kindergartens (%) 16.50 17.70 21.00
Recipients of child care allowance, children up to 18 years of 4.80 4.20 3.80 age (%)
Recipients of special allowance, people up to 26 years of age 0.90 0.90 1.00 (%)
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Households – recipients of social financial assistance aged 18+ 22.80 20.70 21.10 (per 000 population)
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
In Skopje region there is the highest number of workers in organisations active in the field of health care. In 2012, the total number of health care workers amounted to 11,731, which equals 42% of the total contracted staff in the country.
1.5. Tourism
With regard to achievements in the field of tourism, Skopje region takes second place in the Republic of Macedonia, after the Southeast region. The performance in the field of tourism of Skopje Planning Region is depicted below.
Table 12. Scope, dynamics, structure and percentage ratio of tourist visits to Skopje Planning Region
Total Total Percentage share of Number of Index Number of Index Index number number of the region in the Year domestic base foreign base base of tourists in total number of tourists 2009 tourists 2009 2009 tourists the region tourists in RM in RM
2009 19987 100.0 111281 100.0 131268 100.0 587770 22,33 %
2010 23793 119.0 114663 103.0 138456 105.5 586241 23,62 %
2011 23437 117.3 130726 117.5 154163 117.4 647568 23,81 %
2012 25088 125.5 138989 124.9 164077 125.0 663633 24,72 %
2013 27433 137.3 154891 139.2 182324 138.9 701794 25,98 %
Source: State Statistical Office
A stable continuous growth in the total number of tourists can be inferred from Table 12. The index of the total number of tourists in 2013 rose to a value of 138.9 compared with 2009, that is to say, during the last year there were a total of 182,324 visitors. The number of domestic tourists in 2013 amounted to 27,433, which is an increase of 37.3% compared to 2009, when the region was visited by 19,987 visitors.
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The increase in the number of visits is more expressed among foreign tourists. In 2013, the region was visited by 154,891 tourists, that is, an index of 139.2 compared to 2009, when there were 111,281 foreign visitors to the region registered. Much more favourable are the results with regard to the difference in the number of foreign tourists compared to the number of domestic tourists. Namely, in 2013, there were even 5.65 times more foreign tourists registered in Skopje Planning Region than domestic ones.
In the tabular overview below it may be noticed that there is a relatively large share of the number of tourists who visited Skopje Planning Region when it comes to the total number of tourists in the Republic of Macedonia. It may be stated that almost ¼ of the total number of tourists who visited the Republic have also visited the capital and its surroundings within the region. Furthermore, it is also favourable that an increase has been registered in that share. Namely, in the first analysed year, the percentage share amounted to 22.33%, whereas in 2013 it already marked an increase to a share of 25.98%.
Table 13. Scope, dynamics, structure and percentage ratio of nights spent in Skopje Planning Region
Percentage Total Total Nights share of the Index Nights spent Index number of Index number of spent by region in the Year base by foreign base nights spent base nights domestic total number of 2009 tourists 2009 in the 2009 spent in tourists nights spent in region RM RM
2009 31503 100.0 215052 100.0 246555 100.0 2101606 11,73 %
2010 94547 300.1 210798 98.0 305345 123.8 2020217 15,11 %
2011 92747 294.4 238220 110.8 330967 134.2 2173034 15,23 %
2012 97413 309.2 249230 115.9 346643 140.6 2151692 16,11 %
2013 102965 326.8 268570 124.9 371535 150.7 2157175 17,22 %
Source: State Statistical Office
In Table 13, similarly as with the number of visits, an almost continuous increase is noticed in the number of nights spent in the region. Namely, within the total number of nights spent, the increase within the period analysed amounts to over
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50%, that is to say, there were 371,535 nights spent in 2013 with an index of 150.7 compared to 2009, when there were 246,555 nights spent.
An exception to the continuous increase may be identified with the number of visits of domestic tourists in the year of 2011, when, apart from the increase in regard to the first analysed year, a mild stagnation is also visible in regard to 2010. It is especially important to underline the enormous increase in the number of nights spent in 2010, when there were a total of 94,547 nights spent; that is to say, this number was in fact an increase by over 300%, i.e. a 3-fold increase compared to 2009. In the year of 2013, the increase in the index of nights spent continued and even amounted to 326.8.
When it comes to nights spent by foreign tourists, there is also an almost continuous increase. Namely, in 2010, a stagnation of 2% was registered compared to 2009, when in the region there were 215,052 nights spent. It is important to stress the fact that the increase in nights spent among foreign tourists is lower than the increase among domestic tourists. Namely, in 2013, there were a total of 268,570 nights spent, i.e. an index value of 124.9.
Moreover, the percentage share of nights spent in the region, in reference to the total number of nights spent on the level of the Republic of Macedonia is in permanent increase, thereby marking a rise from 11.73% in 2009 to 17.22% in 2013. This is a sign of a relatively large share compared to other planning regions.
The increase in the number of nights spent should be maintained in the forthcoming period.
Percentage share of the number of visitors and the number of nights spent in the regions of RM in the year of 2013
Table 14. Visits of tourists by statistical region in 2013
Region Number of tourists Share of the region
Tourists 100% TOTAL 701794
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2,45% Vardar region 17196 2,96% East region 20747 37,74% Southwest region 264826 15,67% Southeast region 109982 10,02% Pelagonia region 70312 4,39% Polog region 30823 0,80% Northeast region 5584 25,98% Skopje region 182324 Domestic tourists 100% TOTAL 302114 1,36% Vardar region 4120 4,50% East region 13582 43,04% Southwest region 130020 19,85% Southeast region 59977 16,43% Pelagonia region 49635 5,13% Polog region 15491 0,61% Northeast region 1856 9,08% Skopje region 27433 Foreign tourists
100% TOTAL 399680 3,27% Vardar region 13076 1,79% East region 7165 33,73% Southwest region 134806 12,51% Southeast region 50005 5,17% Pelagonia region 20677 3,84% Polog region 15332 0,93% Northeast region 3728 38,75% Skopje region 154891
Source: State Statistical Office
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Diagram 5. Percentage ratio of the number of visitors to the regions of RM in 2013
In Diagram 5, a relatively big difference between regions may be noticed with regard to their percentage share in the number of visitors. Skopje Planning Region is not far from the Southwest, that is to say, it is second as per number of visits in the Republic of Macedonia. Namely, the share of the region amounts to more than ¼ in 2013, i.e. a share of 25.98%, which is a remarkably positive occurrence.
Table 15. Nights spent by tourists by statistical region in 2013
Region Number of tourists Share of the region %
Tourists
TOTAL 2157175 100%
Vardar region 30840 14,33%
East region 42222 19,62%
Southwest region 1152651 535,68%
Southeast region 327279 152,10%
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Pelagonia region 162752 75,64%
Polog region 61652 28,65%
Northeast region 8244 3,83%
Skopje region 371535 172,67%
Domestic tourists
TOTAL 1275800 100,00%
Vardar region 6194 0,49%
East region 24987 1,96%
Southwest region 763788 59,87%
Southeast region 231870 18,17%
Pelagonia region 112637 8,83%
Polog region 30806 2,41%
Northeast region 2553 0,20%
Skopje region 102965 8,07%
Foreign tourists
TOTAL 881375 100,00%
Vardar region 24646 2,80%
East region 17235 1,96%
Southwest region 388863 44,12%
Southeast region 95409 10,83%
Pelagonia region 50115 5,69%
Polog region 30846 3,50%
Northeast region 5691 0,65%
Skopje region 268570 30,47%
Source: State Statistical Office
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Diagram 6. Percentage ratio of nights spent by visitors in the regions of RM in 2013
In Diagram 6 as well, similarly as with the number of visits, there are relatively big differences in the percentage share of regions from the perspective of their achieved number of nights spent. Namely, Skopje Planning Region is behind the Southwest Planning Region as the touristically most developed region with the highest achieved number of nights spent, and it has a share of 17.22% in the total number of nights spent.
Based on the previous indicators regarding the number of visitors and nights spent in various regions, the average number of nights spent by tourists may be analysed when it comes to Skopje Planning Region. This analysis refers to the period covering the last 5 years, and the results are provided in the following table.
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Table 16. Average stay of tourists in Skopje Planning Region calculated in days
Average stay of domestic Average stay of foreign Average stay of the Year tourists tourists total number
2009 1,58 1,93 1,88
2010 3,97 1,84 2,86
2011 3,96 1,82 2,02
2012 3,88 1,79 2,11
2013 3,75 1,73 2,04
Source: State Statistical Office, own calculations
In Table 16, on the basis of calculations performed regarding the average stay of tourists in days, both increase and decrease in the total number of tourists may be noticed.
Among domestic tourists, it is visible that there was an increase in their average stay in 2010, which amounted to an average of 3.97 days compared to the first analysed year (1.58 days), which is also the highest value in the overall analysed period. Until the year of 2013, a mild increase was marked when it comes to the average stay of domestic tourists, amounting to an average of 3.75 days in the last year.
The average stay of foreign tourists is lower than the one of domestic tourists. Here we can observe a continuous decline within the period analysed, that is to say, 1.93 days marked in 2009, whereas 1.73 days in 2013.
The total number of tourists marked a relatively remarkable leap in terms of the average number of days stayed in 2010, when it amounted to 2.86 compared to 2009 (1.88 days). This is also the highest achieved value within the period analysed. In addition, there was a decrease registered until 2013, when the average stay in fact amounted to only 2.04 days.
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Accommodation establishments in Skopje Planning Region
Apart from the dynamics of indicators regarding tourist visits and stay of domestic and foreign tourists on the territory of Skopje Planning Region, regional tourism development may be also monitored through the changes relating to tourist capacities. This capacity may be analysed through the number and types of establishments, their participation in the total number in the Republic, as well as their comparison with the state in other regions in a certain time frame. The table below gives an overview of these parameters in the various planning regions for the period covering the past 5 years.
Table 17. Accommodation establishments by statistical region
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Number of rooms
TOTAL 26390 26189 26448 26877 26887
Vardar region 508 554 589 689 690
East region 598 533 544 599 620
Southwest region 16369 16013 16033 16035 16050
Southeast region 2152 2105 2277 2298 2346
Pelagonia region 3102 3390 3330 3497 3322
Polog region 1080 1011 1018 1014 1072
Northeast region 297 292 302 306 300
Skopje region 2284 2291 2355 2439 2487
Number of beds
TOTAL 69561 69102 69737 70287 70297
Vardar region 1360 1496 1701 1829 1819
East region 1718 1591 1606 1721 1826
Southwest region 42103 41458 41454 41458 41411
Southeast region 5750 5724 6069 6088 6298
Pelagonia region 8999 10229 10165 10310 10001
Polog region 3182 3057 3058 3059 3153
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Northeast region 805 633 645 653 647
Skopje region 5644 4914 5039 5169 5142
Source: State Statistical Office
Diagram 7. Dynamics of accommodation establishments in Skopje Planning Region by year
In Table 6 and Diagram 3, changes may be noticed with regard to the number of beds in the form of downward and upward trends, as well as a continuous increase in the number of rooms in Skopje Planning Region. More precisely, the number of beds marked a swift decline in 2010, when there were 4,914 beds registered, whereas in the following period an increase was marked and in 2013 there were 5,142 beds registered. However, the highest value remains with the first analysed year (5,644 beds), by which this figure was not reached again within the period analysed.
On the other hand, the number of rooms in Skopje Planning Region marks a steady, but mild increase. In 2009, 2,284 rooms were registered, whereas in the following period there was an increase to this number, and in 2013 the figure of 2,487 was reached.
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It may be concluded that in this regard as well we should work on enhancing the situation, that is to say, on increasing the number of accommodation establishments in the region.
Table 18. Accommodation establishments in 2010 by type
Type of establishment Number of Number of Number of beds establishments apartments
Total 65 146 4690
Hotels in total 42 127 2475
Hotels ***** 5 56 633
Hotels **** 5 20 291
Hotels *** 11 36 796
Hotels ** 14 13 574
Hotels * 7 2 181
Guesthouses 2 1 63
Inns 10 2 107
Thermal spa 1 5 200
Mountain lodging halls and houses 1 / 35
Youth hostels 1 / 48
Temporary accommodation establishments 2 4 1279
Sleeping cars 1 / 384
Uncategorised facilities 5 7 99
Table 18 gives an overview of the types of accommodation establishments available in Skopje Planning Region. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that the data provided refer to the year of 2010, since this is the last available information obtained from the State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia. It may be noticed that hotels have the largest share within the total number of establishments. They have the largest number of apartments at their disposal, that is to say, hotels have 127 out of a total of 146 which are available in this region. It is significant to underline the fact that this region numbers 42 hotels, 5 of which are 5-star hotels. 2-star hotels, on the other hand, are
28 predominant, i.e. there are 14. When it comes to the number of beds, they are the most prevalent in hotels, numbering a total of 2,475, immediately followed by beds in temporary accommodation establishments, i.e. 1,279. From what was mentioned afore, it may be concluded that Skopje Planning Region has the most favourable conditions for delivering catering services of accommodation and food for higher category consumers. As a general conclusion, that is to say, a recommendation, in the forthcoming period it should be worked on increasing the number of higher category accommodation establishments, because Skopje region has the highest potential for development of congress and cultural tourism, whereby participants in these selective types of tourism have the need for precisely such catering accommodation establishments.
Tourism consumption
Tourism consumption can be presented by the achieved turnover in catering establishments. The achieved turnover on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as on the territory of Skopje Planning Region is given in the table below.
Table 19. Tourism turnover in catering establishments in RM and in Skopje Planning Region
2011 2012 2013
Consumption
Food and Food and Food and Leisure Leisure Leisure accommodation accommodation accommodation
Tourism turnover in catering 7428958 387385 7782534 383730 6389528 398687 establishments in RM, in thousands of Denars
Tourism turnover in catering establishments in 3259770 132396 3474041 132871 2329035 120039 Skopje Planning Region, in thousands of Denars
Percentage share of the tourism turnover of Skopje Planning 43,88 % 34,18 % 44,64 % 34,63% 36,45% 30,11% Region in the total turnover of RM
Source: State Statistical Office
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In Table 19, a difference can be noticed between the food and accommodation consumption and the leisure consumption within the last 3-year period. Namely, it is logical to expect higher food and accommodation consumption compared to leisure consumption, but there is no continuous growth, both on the level of the region and on national level. In 2012, there was an increase in the food and accommodation consumption and in the leisure consumption in both the Republic of Macedonia and in Skopje Planning Region compared to 2011. Skopje Planning Region marked an amount of 3.474.041.000 MKD in food and accommodation consumption, which decreased to 2.329.035.000 MKD in 2013, being a significant decline by even 32.96%. This is an especially negative occurrence. With leisure consumption, there was a mild increase in 2012, but in 2013 we noted a fall of a relatively high degree. However, this decrease was lower than the one of food and accommodation consumption. Namely, the amount of leisure consumption in 2012 was 132.871.000 MKD, whereas in 2013 it was 120.039.000 MKD, which is a decrease by 9.66%.
From the overview of the percentage share of tourism turnover of Skopje Planning Region compared to the tourism turnover on the level of the Republic of Macedonia, a relatively high share may be identified in contrast to other regions. Namely, food and accommodation consumption in 2013 amounted to 36.45%, whereas leisure consumption to 30.11%. However, there is a similar downward trend in this regard as well. So, a mild increase in the percentage share was marked in 2012, both with food and accommodation consumption and with leisure consumption, so that in 2013 a swift fall could be registered.
These shortcomings should be prevented in the forthcoming period and the percentage share and the consumption itself should be maintained or even increased, but that increase should not be achieved on the expense of other planning regions which have had relatively low turnover and share values in the analysed period.
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1.6. Agriculture Skopje region has a total of 80,420 ha agricultural land, 48.7% of which or 39,217 hectares are arable areas, whereas 51% or 41,170 are pastures. Of the arable areas in this region, plough lands and gardens predominate, covering 32,551 ha, orchards 796 ha, vineyards 2,080 ha and meadows 3,790 ha. The percentage representation of agricultural lands is depicted on Diagram 8.
Diagram 8.
Source: State Statistical Office
Over the last five years, the total agricultural production in Skopje region has varied, but in 2012 it was lower by 5.42% compared to 2008. The following diagram gives an account of the annual agricultural production in tonnes and of the trend of agricultural production.
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Diagram 9.
Skopje region – total agricultural production in tonnes
Skopje region – total agricultural production in tonnes
Source: State Statistical Office
The share of agricultural production of Skopje region in the total agricultural production of the country was maintained on 7% both in 2008 and in 2012.
A total of 16 agricultural holdings cultivate 3,821 ha, whereas 15,297 individual agricultural producers cultivate 21,981 hectares. According to this, the average size of cultivated lands by agricultural holdings is 238 ha. Individual agricultural producers cultivate on average 1.4 ha, which indicates a small average size below the national average (1.84 ha). In the fields of Skopje, where arable lands are lost ever more, garden crops are intensively produced which end up every day on Skopje‟s green markets. In Skopje region, there is the highest concentration of urbanised population which grows day by day, but it is also the largest market for agricultural products, having as a result stability in the quantities of products.
Table 20. Production of some farming and garden crops
2011
Wheat Maize Tobacco Potatoes Onion Tomatoes Pepper Cucumbers
Republic of 256103 126096 26537 192675 44540 165642 153842 49879 Macedonia
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Skopje region 20 742 11 228 597 26 761 2 646 8 896 8 302 3 082
% of R. Macedonia 8,09% 8,9% 2,24% 13,88% 5,94% 5,37% 5,4% 6,17%
2012
Wheat Maize Tobacco Potatoes Onion Tomatoes Pepper Cucumbers
Republic of 214963 115928 27333 168859 43732 145818 166247 50093 Macedonia
Skopje region 19 832 9 030 633 19 473 2 029 7 623 6 830 1 538
% of R. Macedonia 9,22% 7,78% 2,31% 11,53% 4,63% 5,22% 4,1% 3,07%
2013
Wheat Maize Tobacco Potatoes Onion Tomatoes Pepper Cucumbers
Republic of 258960 131043 27859 189590 50787 130960 152153 36834 Macedonia
Skopje region 21 485 10 322 580 20 542 2 156 8 187 7 536 1 556
% of R. Macedonia 8,29% 7,87% 2,08% 10,83% 4,24% 6,25% 4,95% 4,22%
Source: State Statistical Office
The production of all above mentioned crops has been stable in the last three years except for cucumbers which production has decreased after 2011 by approximately 100%. Unfortunately, in spite of the favourable soil and climate conditions, production of garden crops in Skopje region has a very small share in the total production in Macedonia.
Table 21. Production of fruit and grapes
2011
Sour Cherries Apricots Apples Pears Plums Peaches Walnuts Grapes cherries
Republic of 6019 6514 3747 124552 7460 35448 9039 5480 235104 Macedonia
Skopje region 1 194 798 1 656 1 906 1 319 2 477 2 345 695 21 240
% of R. 19,8% 12,25% 44,19% 1,53% 17,68% 6,98% 25,94% 12,68% 9% Macedonia
2012
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Sour Cherries Apricots Apples Pears Plums Peaches Walnuts Grapes cherries
Republic of 5539 8127 4503 127171 6937 35444 8987 4952 240461 Macedonia
Skopje region 1 086 857 1 654 1 487 1 049 1 974 2 143 642 18 519
% of R. 19,6% 10,54% 36,73% 1,16% 15,12% 5,56% 23,84% 12,96% 7,7% Macedonia
2013
Sour Cherries Apricots Apples Pears Plums Peaches Walnuts Grapes cherries
Republic of 6037 8867 3968 112929 7265 38902 11034 5467 292075 Macedonia
Skopje region 1 040 856 1 482 1 405 978 1 884 1 952 639 18 555
% of R. 17,22% 9,65% 37,34% 1,24% 13,46% 4,84% 17,69% 11,68% 6,35% Macedonia
Source: State Statistical Office
Even though agricultural production in Skopje region participates with approximately 1% in the value of the overall Skopje production, the quantities produced in this region have a significant share in the total Macedonian agricultural production. This especially applies to cherries, apricots and peaches, even though their production compared to 2011 has been showing a slow, but continuous decline.
Over the past three years, all other above mentioned fruits have had a relatively steady production in tonnes, which is also the case for their share in the total production in the country.
Table 22.
Areas under plough lands and gardens
Flowers Plough- Legumi- Vege- Industrial Fodder Pota- and Seed and Fallow hectares/ha lands and Cereals nous table crops crops toes ornamental seedlings lands gardens crops total plants
Republic of 5 236 291 158 314 24 717 23 561 2 283 12 722 34 26 9 581 Macedonia 053
Skopje 17 522 12 119 503 1 682 169 1 153 226 - - 1 669 region
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% of R. 4,47 17,41 7,41% 7,65% 2,03% 7,13% 7,4% 9,06% % % Macedonia % %
Source: State Statistical Office
From the analysis of the representation of crops cultivated on areas falling under plough lands and gardens, it is concluded that they are represented to a very low extent when compared to the number of population. The low representation of these crops, both as quantities and as a part of the total production in the country is a limiting factor for greater development of livestock husbandry as well, even though dairy and meat products, and processed products are on high demand by both the end-consumers and the processing industry, especially the developed meat industry in Skopje region, which also places its products on foreign markets.
Table 23. Total number of livestock, poultry and bee families 2013
Bee Number Horses Cattle Swine Sheep Goats Poultry families
Republic of 20 682 238 333 167 492 731 828 75 028 2 201 550 68 294 Macedonia
Skopje region 2 710 26 419 14 117 63 097 5 087 226 746 5 695
% of Republic of 13,1% 11,08% 8,42% 8,62% 6,78% 10,29% 8,33% Macedonia
Source: State Statistical Office
The number of livestock in Skopje region does not correspond to the quantities of fodder and cereal crops that could be separated as input for livestock‟s diet, so this need is met either by importing or by transporting from other regions which makes production more expensive. The decrease in arable lands and following the intensive urbanisation of suburban areas does not provide for space for larger production of these crops. In Skopje region, there are almost no agricultural families making a living only by farming. Farms numbering 15 to 20 dairy cows are already considered in this region as one of the larger individual holdings. Even though a half of the available agricultural land is grasslands and pastures, sheep husbandry, goat husbandry and swine husbandry are negligible in this region. Such farms in the surrounding Skopje villages are small and to a
35 large extent they serve for production of seasonal slaughter livestock to meet the needs of the population for various holidays and other occasions.
1.7. Infrastructure
Transport infrastructure
Road infrastructure
The road infrastructure in Skopje region consists of local, regional and A - road network. The European corridors VII and X pass through the region.
Diagram 10. Road network in Skopje Planning Region
The existing road infrastructure in Skopje Planning Region comprises 1,384 km local roads, 107 km state A - motorways and 188 km regional roads.
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Diagram 11.
Structure of roads
Regional
A-motorways
Local 83%
Major road routes connecting this region to other regions are the state A1 motorway (Veles – Skopje – Kumanovo – border with Serbia) having a length of 28.8 km, the state A2 motorway (Tetovo – Skopje – Kumanovo – Kriva Palanka – border with Bulgaria) having a length of 64.3 km and the state A4 motorway (Skopje – border with Kosovo) having a length of 13.4 km.
The road network in this region is well-developed.
Parts of A1 and A2 motorways are damaged, while the A4 motorway is in a relatively poor condition, above all as a result of damaged motorway surfaces and inappropriate technical elements that are present in certain parts of this section.
Certain sections of the regional road network R 1104 (Skopje – Arachinovo – Kumanovo), R 1106 (Skopje – Kozjak Lake), R 1206 (Skopje – Tetovo), R 1102 (Skopje – Katlanovo), as well as certain sections of regional roads of second category R 2234 (Skopje – Radusha), R 2131 (Drachevo - junction to A1), R 2134 (Kisela Voda - Sopishte) and R 2239 (junction to А4 - Tanushevci) are also in a relatively poor condition. A section of the R 1106 road route (Skopje – Kozjak Lake) does not meet at all the regional road technical criteria.
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The local road network in Skopje Planning Region is in a good condition, but in certain sections the quality of the local road network is on a low level, which poses a potential threat for normal regulation of the traffic.
Only some of the municipalities have a sound database on the condition of the road network and the necessary resources, on the basis of which maintenance and development of the local road network could be planned in a proper manner.
Over the past few years, by using own resources, as well as resources of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, some of the local roads have been reconstructed and upgraded (4%).
Table 24. Condition of the local road network by municipality
Asphalt Cobbled Macadam Dirt Project truck Total km
Aerodrom 4 - - - - 4
Butel 143 1 43 23 19 229
Gazi Baba 40 - 8 8 10 66
Gjorche Petrov 26 - 5 27 32 90
Karposh 12 1 - - - 13
Kisela Voda 45 - 2 1 - 48
Saraj 63 - 23 15 - 101
Centar - - - - - 0
Chair - - - - - 0
Arachinovo 20 - - 22 20 62
Zelenikovo 25 - - 45 14 84
Ilinden 256 - - 16 - 272
Petrovec 44 - 6 17 25 92
Sopishte 48 - 2 4 4 58
Studenichani 67 1 15 4 28 115
Chucher Sandevo 66 6 7 45 - 124
Shuto Orizari - - - - - 0
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Diagram 12.
Types of local roads
Project truck
Dirt roads Asphalt 63%
Macadam 8%
Cobbled 1%
The road network density in Skopje Planning Region amounts to 0.52 and is lower by 5.8% than the road network density on the level of the Republic of Macedonia (0.55).
Table 25. Road infrastructure in Skopje Planning Region compared to the road infrastructure in the Republic of Macedonia Republic of Macedonia Skopje region %
A - motorway network 1153 107 9.28% Regional roads 3771 188 4.99% Local roads 9258 1384 14.95% Total 14182 1679 11.84%
There are two border crossings in Skopje Planning Region. One with the Republic of Kosovo being the border crossing “Blace” in the Municipality of Gjorche Petrov and the other one at the airport “Alexander the Great” in the Municipality of Petrovec. The average daily traffic on the state A – motorway network in the year of 2013 is shown in Table 26. Table 26
Motor Motorway section Average annual daily traffic
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way C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 Total
A-1 Kumanovo - Miladinovci 6244 685 204 64 89 476 7762
A-1 Miladinovci - Petrovec 4816 603 179 201 204 265 6268
A-1 Petrovec - Veles 9112 1273 245 96 161 715 11602
A-2 Petrovec – junction Hipodrom 7934 1084 186 63 74 294 9635
A-2 junction Hipodrom - Skopje 16308 2356 576 842 816 708 21606
A-4 Skopje - Blace 3249 261 36 64 38 166 3814
A-2 Miladinovci – junction Hipodrom 5182 994 150 199 71 216 6812
A-2 junction Hipodrom – junction Chento 2868 473 49 287 154 131 3962
junction Butel – Radishani – junction A-2 2952 495 64 321 146 189 4167 Saraj
A-2 Skopje - Glumovo 8512 914 135 35 57 176 9829
The average daily traffic on a section of the regional road network in Skopje region in the year of 2013 is presented in Table 27 below.
Table 27
Average annual daily traffic Road Road section C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 Total
R 1206 Saraj – Zhelino (old road) 1750 290 12 57 55 36 2200
Classification of vehicles in 6 categories: C1-passenger vehicles C2-light goods vehicles C3-buses C4-heavy goods vehicles with two axles C5- heavy goods vehicles with three axles C6- heavy goods vehicles with more than three axles
Railway infrastructure There are three railway lines located in Skopje region, more precisely in Corridor VIII there is the railway line connecting Skopje to Kichevo, in Corridor X the
40 railway line beginning from the border with Serbia – Skopje – Gevgelija – border with Greece and the railway line from Skopje to the border with Kosovo.
Skopje Planning Region, specifically the City of Skopje, is a central railway knot in the Republic of Macedonia. The total length of the railway network is 94.78 km, 37.3 km of which are a part of the railway knot of Skopje, 31.68 km is the length of the Skopje – Volkovo – border with Kosovo line, 18.8 km part of the railway line Tabanovce – border with Serbia, and 7 km part of the line Skopje – Kichevo.
Diagram 13.
Railway network in Skopje Planning Region
The railway network in this region has a density of 29.43 km‟ per 1000 km2 (27 km‟ on average in Macedonia), and the length of the rail tracks per 100 thousand inhabitants is 16.4 km‟ (33.9 km‟ on average in Macedonia).
The railway network in Skopje region features good density if compared to the average density in Macedonia, which indicates that this region is appropriately served with this type of transport. The only gate for multimodal transport is located in the region (Rankovce).
Table 28. Number of passengers and goods carried
Year Number of passengers carried Goods carried
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Republic of Republic of Skopje % Skopje % Macedonia Macedonia
2010 476.154 1.489.000 31,98% 1.379.681 2.198.206,00 62,76%
2011 440.352 1.408.000 31,28% 1.259.204 1.902.581,00 66,18%
2012 307.198 1.000.000 30,72% 974.741 1.875.974,00 51,96%
The number of passengers carried by means of the railway significantly decreased in the period 2010 – 2012. The decrease in the number of passengers carried amounts to 35.48% (a decrease of 32.84% on the level of the Republic of Macedonia), whereas in terms of transportation of goods we have a decrease of 29.35% (2012 – 14.65% decrease on the level of the Republic of Macedonia).
Air traffic
The airport “Alexander the Great” is located in the immediate vicinity of Skopje. The proximity of this airport ensures that all municipalities in Skopje region are served.
Near Skopje there is also a class A sports airport Stankovec covering an area of 43.5 ha.
1.8. Energy infrastructure Electric power
The hydro power system HPS Treska is located in Skopje Planning Region. HPS Treska is located on Treska River. It consists of three hydro power plants: the water storage HPP Treska, HPP St. Petka and HPP Matka (existing). The water storage of HPP Kozjak is multipurpose, above all it ensures protection from floods, and it provides irrigation water for agricultural areas around Skopje, as well as technical water and water for electricity production. The water storages of HPP St. Petka and HPP Matka, depending on the way of discharging water from HPP Kozjak, are used to optimise the production of electricity in HPP and to
42 regulate the waters in the lower flow of Treska River. These three hydro power plants complete the investment coverage for use of the energy potential of Treska River.
Apart from the aforementioned, sites have been identified for the construction of small hydro power plants.
Diagram 14. Existing and planned water storages
Springs Sewage system Refinery Water supply system Thermal power plants Oil pipeline Regional water economy Hydro power plants Industrial thermal system Power transmission lines Transformer stations power plants Water storages Coal mine Natural lakes Pellet plant Irrigated areas Gas pipeline Regulation stations Diagram 15. Energy infrastructure
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The City of Skopje is supplied with electricity from the electric power system of the Republic of Macedonia. The connection of Skopje with the electric power system of RM has been performed by means of two 400/110 kV transformer stations (TS „Skopje 4‟ located in the settlement „Pintija‟ and TS „Skopje 5‟ located in the settlement „Butel‟), one 220/110/35 kV transformer station (TS „Skopje 1‟ located in the settlement „Radishani‟), one 110/35/10 kV transformer station (TS „Skopje 2‟ located on the same location as TS „Skopje 1‟) and one 110/20 kV transformer station (TS „Skopje 3‟ located in the vicinity of Saraj). The total installed power of the energy transformers in these transformer stations is 2.000 МVA. Apart from these transformer stations, there are also several 110/х kV grid transformer stations in Skopje (TS „Aerodrom‟, TS „Central‟, TS „West‟, TS „East‟, TS „Kozle‟, TS „Vasil Glavinov‟, etc.), with a total installed power of the grid transformers of 450 MVA. The power transmission network consists of 400 kV, 220 kV, 110 kV and 35 kV power transmission lines. The total length of these power transmission lines in RM is 775 km. Nevertheless, a large portion of these power transmission lines (especially 400 kV and 220 kV) is in the direction of neighbouring countries or other regions of RM. According to our calculations, the total length of these power transmission lines in Skopje amounts to approximately 165 km. It may be stated that populated areas, especially municipalities on the territory of the City of Skopje are 100% electrified, but the quality and quantity of electricity does not always meet the criteria demanded by quality standards set.
Gas pipeline system The gas pipeline system in the Republic of Macedonia is a part of the Russian transit natural gas pipeline which passes through Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. The connection point of the system of the Republic of Macedonia with the Bulgarian one of the pipeline is in the border area of Deve Bair. The gas pipeline stretches across Skopje region, more precisely in the area of the City of Skopje and its surroundings. From the perspective of regional development, capacity building for enhanced use of the gas pipeline system may contribute
44 towards stimulating development of the regions. Existing infrastructure: main transmission gas pipeline Deve Bair – Skopje having a length of 98 km, transmission gas pipeline network having a length of 25.869 km in Skopje.
The total length of the city gas pipeline network is 19.17 km. Pipes have a corresponding diameter, depending on the needs (from Ø108 mm to Ø530 mm). The capacity of each gas pipeline network amounts to 70.000 Nm3/h, while the pressure is 1.5 Мpa. On the end points of each transmission gas pipeline there are main measuring regulation stations (MMRS): Skopje – North in the proximity of „Zelezara‟ ironworks and Skopje – South in the proximity of „OHIS‟. Their main function is to reduce the pressure depending on the mode of operation and to control and measure the transmitted gas quantity. It is planned for the city gas pipeline network to be extended by additional 12 km, by which the city gas pipeline system will be fully completed; it is planned that the system reaches its maximum capacity until 2020 (133.000 Nm3/h, 113.000 Nm3/h of which in the industry and energy sector and 20.000 Nm3/h in broad consumption).
District heating network
The district heating system comprises the three thermal power stations (thermal power station „East‟, thermal power station „West‟ and thermal power station „North‟) and one heat-only boiler station (heat-only boiler station ‟11 October‟), as well as an appropriate district heating network with a total length of 170 km and more than 2,350 reduction stations. According to the data of Toplifikacija AD Skopje, the system covers approximately 33% of the total number of households in Skopje (approximately 51 thousand households), with a total area of 2,740,000 m2. Of the remaining households that are not connected to the central district heating system, 4% have their own installation, whereas 63% are without their own installation system.
Table 29. Installed capacity for electricity production in Skopje Planning Region
MW Republic of Macedonia Skopje region %
2011 1849 370 20,01%
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2012 1913 406 21,22%
2013 1938 407 21,00%
The installed capacity for electricity production in Skopje region represents 21% of the total installed capacity in the Republic of Macedonia. In this region, there are hydro power plants, solar power plants and gas power stations. According to the data covering the period from 2011 to 2013, the total average annual electricity consumption in the industry in Skopje Planning Region amounted to 752 GWh, that is to say, approximately 31.09% of the total consumption in the industry in the Republic of Macedonia. Table 30.
GWh Republic of Macedonia Skopje region %
2011 2194 771 35,14%
2012 2693 898 33,35%
2013 2369 587 24,78%
The large share of Skopje region in the total consumption in the industry in the Republic of Macedonia has been expected and is as a consequence of the concentration of a large part of industrial facilities in Skopje region.
Potential has been identified in the region for the use of renewable energy sources.
1.9. Environment
Solid waste
Solid waste management in Skopje Planning Region is under the competence of the Public Enterprise “Communal Hygiene”, which is responsible for waste in the City of Skopje, and of other municipal public enterprises that are responsible for waste management in rural municipalities which are not part of the City of Skopje. There are also several private companies collecting and transporting waste from half-urban and rural municipalities.
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Table 31: Quantities of collected and generated waste
Quantity of generated waste Quantity of collected waste % of collected waste (tonnes)
2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013
Republic of 735 250 786.909 793.000 543 954 550.760 555.250 73,98% 69,99% 70,02% Macedonia
Skopje 171 836 168 404 172 000 147 804 144.593 147 051 86,01% 85,86% 85,49% region
% 23,37% 21,40% 21,69% 27,17% 26,25% 26,48% 116,26% 122,68% 122,10%
Depositing solid municipal waste in Skopje Planning Region is performed in the only sanitary landfill “Drisla”, which minimally meets the basic sanitary and technical standards for safe waste depositing. The landfill “Drisla” Skopje is located in the south-eastern part of the City of Skopje at a distance of 14 km from the centre of the city, near the village Batinci. It covers an area of 76 ha with a projected area at the final stage of 55 ha. The projected capacity of the landfill is 26.000.000 m3.
Apart from “Drisla”, on the territory of Skopje Planning Region there are several municipal landfills which have not been registered in line with the National Waste Management Plan. Just as in other regions, in this region as well there are so called illegal dump sites, especially in the rural part which is not encompassed by the service of collecting and depositing garbage, which is an additional threat to the environment in the region.
“Drisla” landfill
47
“Drisla” landfill
Recycling, that is, selection of recyclable fractions of the municipal solid waste is performed to a part of the waste, by selecting waste in waste containers set in several municipalities in the City of Skopje and by help of the informal sector which collects waste plastics, paper and metal directly from waste collection containers. Paper recycling is performed by individual commercial and public organisations; there are individual containers throughout Skopje for public use and large containers on precise industrial estates. Certain quantities of PET bottles and paper have been inserted in the special containers managed by PE ”Communal Hygiene”, which are set on the whole territory of the city.
There is a well-established network of waste metal collectors and/ or traders, as well as a strong and stable market.
On the landfill itself, manual selection of packaging waste is performed, as well as baling and sales of packaging waste which has been collected on the landfill “Drisla”. The operation in the baling station is concentrated on selecting plastics. In 2010, there were almost 700 tonnes of PET plastics selected.
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The data on collected recyclable material for the year of 2013 are shown in Table 32.
Table 32.
Months PE Communal Hygiene Informal collectors Total 2013 PET Paper Cans PET Paper Cans PET Paper Cans packaging and (kg) packaging and (kg) packaging and (kg) (kg) card (kg) card (kg) card boxes boxes boxes (kg) (kg) (kg) 1 2 3 4 (2+3) January 0 1.700 0 7.731 2.807 41 7.731 4.507 41 February 270 1.550 0 4.717 2.149 2 4.987 3.699 2 March 300 800 0 2.404 714 4 2.704 1.514 4 April 400 1.950 0 2.538 182 0 2.938 2.132 0 May 350 1.800 0 2.529 0 0 2.879 1.800 0 June 400 900 0 3.596 4.636 8 3.996 5.536 8 July 50 2.970 0 7.780 21.820 2 7.830 24.790 2 August 300 600 0 4.963 22.617 5 5.263 23.217 5 September 90 250 0 5.344 30.135 21 5.434 30.385 21 October 580 250 0 3.995 42.233 20 4.575 42.483 20 November 250 3.350 0 3.574 43.817 27 3.824 47.167 27 December 72 236 0 5.547 45.549 12 5.619 45.785 12 Total: 3.062 16.356 0 54.718 216.659 142 57.780 233.015 142
Collected packaging waste quantities which were handed over in 2013 are shown in Table 33.
Table 33.
Months Delivered to Pakomak from 2013 01.01. to 31.12.2013 PET Paper Cans packaging and (kg) (kg) card boxes (kg) 1 2 January 10.020 5.420 0 February 5.110 3.780 0 March 2.870 1.440 0 April 2.810 2.380 0 May 2.030 1.780 0 June 4.600 6.340 150 July 7.880 23.840 0 August 6.040 28.980 0 September 6.270 27.140 0 October 3.370 40.140 0 November 3.180 52.670 0 December 3.480 27.180 0 Total: 58.020 221.090 150
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Collected medical waste is treated in the medical waste incinerator located on the landfill “Drisla” and it has a capacity of 200 kg waste/hour.
The most represented kind of inert waste is the construction and demolition waste. It mainly originates from activities of construction and reconstruction of buildings and road infrastructure. This waste usually contains concrete, armature, ceramic tiles, wood, glass, insulation material, gypsum and plaster, asphalt, land, construction materials packaging and other remainders. Even though the largest part of this waste is inert, construction waste may also contain hazardous substances (asbestos, PVC, wood treated with protection disinfectants, lead, mercury, colours, fluorescent lamps, etc.). When treating hazardous waste within construction waste, no adequate measures are applied and it is mixed with inert waste when depositing. It is especially important to emphasise that on the territory of the City of Skopje there is no site arranged for depositing construction waste. A part of the construction waste is disposed of on the landfill “Drisla”.
Water
Groundwater in Skopje Valley features two water-bearing layers (aquifers): a strongly discharging semi-arterial aquifer in surface sand and gravel with clay horizons and a low discharging layer in marls in the subsurface layer.
The surface layer is in direct relation to Vardar River, since it stretches across the alluvial centre of the river. The depth of the groundwater level varies depending on the local conditions, and the flow direction of groundwater follows the flow of Vardar River. The upper aquifer stretches along the upstream part of Skopje Valley and is comprised of dense alluvial sand and gravel on both sides of the river. The depth of the layer varies from 4-5 m in the western part, to 144 m in the eastern, lowland area.
In Skopje Valley, there are 450 springs registered with a total annual discharge of 121 million m3. The use of spring potential up to now is approximately 108 million m3/ year.
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The registered number of wells amounts to approximately 130, the use of groundwater is 16.4 million m3/ year, and the total annual potential is 54.49 million m3.
Based on the aforementioned information, it is to be concluded that 71% of the total potential of groundwater has been used, whereby groundwater from wells has only been used in the amount of 30%, unlike remaining springs which utilisation amounts to almost 90%.
In terms of groundwater, interesting are the occurrences of mineral and thermo- mineral water on the sites of Katlanovo, Volkovo, Kuchkovo and Rashche.
Vardar River passes through Skopje, being at the same time the largest river in the Republic of Macedonia, with a river basin of 22.290 km2, that is to say 80% of the total area of the country (25.713 km2). The total water potential of Vardar River is 4.77 billion m3. On the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, Vardar River has a total length of 301 km, whereas across Skopje Valley, Vardar River passes with a length of 51 km.
The mid-year flow of Vardar River, measured in Skopje, is 25.7 m3/s or 795 million m3/ year. Of the total 4.570 million m3/year output waters along Vardar River, 3.880 million m3/year are domicile, whereas 690 million m3/year (or 15% of the total potential) are external waters. In Skopje Valley, there are 5 larger tributaries flowing into Vardar River, as follows: from the right side Treska River (138 km), Markova River (29 km) and Moranska River (10.5 km) and from the left side Lepenec (75 km) and Serava River (21 km).
On the territory of Skopje, there are the following regulated sections of river basins, and built dams and quay walls (defence lines):
Vardar River: length of regulated basin 18.7 km and defence lines 42 km;
Markova River: length of regulated basin 1.6 km;
Momin brook (Serava River): regulated basin 5.0 km, defence lines 10 km;
Lepenec: length of regulated basin 1.6 km, defence lines 3.2 km;
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Treska River (locally around the lake): 2.1 km, and
Fush River: regulated basin 0.4 km, defence lines 0.8 km.
The territory of Skopje region covers the Vardar river basin.
Water supply
In order to meet the water supply needs of the population of Skopje and the broader areas, there are various ways to do so, depending on the character and location of the populated area, as follows:
Urban water supply system – urban areas, and
Local water supply – rural areas.
Skopje has permanent water supply sources, and these include Rashche spring, with an average capacity of 4.17 m3/sec or maximum 6 m3/s and the water from the well system Nerezi – Lepenec of app. 1.4 m3/s. Over the past three years, the well system Nerezi – Lepenec has been practically in a continuous reserve as a result of the favourable hydro condition and the water production from Rashche spring, which has met the water needs of the city throughout the whole year.
The urban water supply system, managed by PE „Water Supply and Sewage‟ – Skopje, in terms of the material, has 67.61% of its total length of the water supply network built from cast iron water pipes, 11.17% from asbestos cement water pipes, 4.86% steel water pipes, 3.63% plastic water pipes and 12.73% galvanised water pipes. The average age of the water supply network of the City of Skopje, in the period from 1940 to 2012, is 33.5 years. Taking into account the standards on duration of water supply lines from various materials and the age of the water supply network, there is an evident need for reconstruction of the water supply infrastructure. In the City of Skopje, approximately 2.7% of the total length of the network should be replaced or protected on average every year, or a total of 27 km of pipes from various materials.
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On the territory of the City of Skopje, there are also local water supply systems, such as the water supply systems of Ljubanci and Ljuboten – Municipality of Butel, Rashtak and Bulachani – Municipality of Gazi Baba and Kuchkovo – Municipality of Gjorche Petrov. Local water supply systems, in general, do not meet the quality and quantity standards.
According to the data provided by PE „Water Supply and Sewage‟ – Skopje, the daily water consumption for water supply of the population and of the public and private administration amounts to approximately 85.000 m3 or 500 l/s, which is much more than the legally prescribed water supply norm of 200 l/s daily.
One of the main issues of the water supply system is the high percentage of loss of water which was in a range of approximately 40% for the year of 2013.
Loss of water occurs on the following grounds:
Own consumption (washing channel and water supply network, washing containers);
Public consumption (for public green areas and traffic surfaces, fountains and public taps);
Loss in the system (lump sum users, difference in the main – controlling water measuring device, written-off disputed bills);
Technical loss (discharge due to defects, etc.);
Illicit connection to water supply.
Table 34. Water supply, use and protection against pollution in industry and mining
(in thousands Republic of Macedonia Skopje region % m3) 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012
Water supply 6.368.589 5.869.979 5.006.246 1.592.728 1.024.897 641.950 25,01% 17,46% 12,82%
Water used for 6.251.678 4.953.364 4.923.165 1.488.785 950.175 620.654 23,81% 19,18% 12,61% technological
53 purposes
Discharge of untreated 6.224.267 5.062.710 4.808.627 1.454.402 1.023.313 630.220 23,37% 20,21% 13,11% water
Discharge of 20.131 77.573 92.492 1.049 10.892 176 5,21% 14,04% 0,19% treated water
Discharge of wastewater in 1.435.562 820.679 1.045.121 475.171 102.436 132.846 33,10% 12,48% 12,71% industry and mining
Wastewater
Population sewage network coverage in urban areas in the City of Skopje amounts to 90%, whereas in rural areas it is in the range from 0% (septic tanks or direct discharge) to 80%.
The total length of the sewage network on the territory of the City of Skopje, conclusive of 2009, amounted to 845.613 km. 614.668 km of that length belong to the sanitary sewer, whereas 230.945 km to the storm sewer network. The collection network, both on the left and on the right bank of Vardar River, has not been completed yet, which results in a high level of discharge on both banks. Only 30% of the foreseen storm water network of the City of Skopje has been built.
According to the data presented in LEAP2 of the City of Skopje, the total concentration of BPK5 from industries amounts to 4.039 kg daily, whereby the share of food industry and paper industry amounts to 45%, and chemical industry to 25%. The total concentration of suspended materials (SM) is 7.447 kg daily. Therein, metal production and processing industries participate with 53%, whereas the share of other activities, which are a part of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), amounts to 23%. Wastewater produced by the large consumers „Mitalstil‟ and „Makstil‟, which have their own water supply source, has been calculated to approximately 0.9 m3/s, or approximately 80.000 m3/day.
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Table 35. Wastewater quality in discharge areas (2010)
- - - - Sanitary discharge BPK5 SM Phenols NO3 NO2 Cl SO4 (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l)
Bardovci 50 440 0,10 2,0 3,03 28,0 20,0
Keramidnica 101 361 0,05 3,0 4,0 40,0 45,0
Bulevar Srbija, Most 100 202 0,45 2,0 0 70,0 50,0
Novo Lisiche 120 486 0,21 2,0 0 60,0 73,0
Vardarishte 1 80 400 0,50 4,0 4,0 70,0 69,0
Landfill - Hipodrom 140 130 0,48 5,0 3,2 80,0 48,0
Channel Usje 110 479 0,30 4,0 10 58,0 63,0
Drachevo 102 200 0,60 2,0 0 60,0 66,0
The present practice of industrial wastewater management is on an exceedingly low level. Out of 50 industries, only 9 have their own wastewater treatment plants. Most of them discharge the water in the existing sewage system, and some of them discharge the water directly in Vardar River. Out of 21 factories that possess ISO 9000 or ISO 14000, more than half have no pollution control in place. With regard to industrial facilities, only „Alkaloid‟ (chemical industry) and „OKTA‟ (oil refinery, located outside of the City of Skopje) implement wastewater monitoring and conduct analysis in their own laboratories, after which they send the results to the Information Centre of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning. All other remaining industries and business entities do not conduct any measurements on the wastewater produced.
Water quality Periodic measurements of water quality, as well as measurements of the hydro condition are performed by the National Hydro-meteorological Service, which submits the data to the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning. Measuring stations located near the City of Skopje are as follows: Radusha is upstream and Taor is downstream the river approximately 15 km from Skopje.
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Three institutions are in charge of monitoring and analysing data on Vardar River water quality:
Centre of Public Health (CPH)
PE “Water Supply and Sewage“ – Skopje
National Hydro-meteorological Service (NHS)
In the upper and medium flow of Vardar River, the water quality corresponds to
Class II, while the value of BPK5 is approximately 2 mg/l. In the move from the medium part downstream the flow of Vardar River, the situation of water quality worsens due to the large number of households and industries directly discharging untreated water into the recipient. Monthly variations of BPK5 in this section vary from 2 to 7 mg/l, thus Vardar River is of Class III.
When it comes to Vardar River‟s tributaries, Treska River and Lepenec River, registered monthly variations of BPK5 show that both rivers are of Class II.
The values registered on cyanides and nitrates correspond to a water quality of Class III – IV, values on hexavalent chromium and the presence of phenols in the water in certain parts of Vardar River correspond to Class III – IV. Remaining parameters of this group of indicators, within the whole project area, correspond to Class I or Class II.
Apart from the well-known impact on large watercourses, it should be underlined that small watercourses are also under enormous pressure. Markova River, being water of first category in the upper flow, is polluted upstream by the existing landfill. Filtering waters, which are the most dangerous by their concentration levels, flow into Markova River in an uncontrollable manner. There is no precise data on the quantities and concentration. In the river basin, waters are discharged from the sand washing mill. These are conditionally non-toxic waters, but they carry clay material visible to the naked eye which disrupts the watercourse balance.
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Irrigation and drainage
Irrigation
In Skopje region, 21.287 ha are used for agricultural production, only 458 ha of which are irrigated. Water from the sub-system Treska („Matka‟ and „St. Petka‟) is used to irrigate areas around the City of Skopje on the left bank of Vardar River and a small portion of the areas near the banks of Treska River, but also the areas on the right bank of Vardar River near the village Dolno Lisiche and Drachevo. By the sub-system Kadina River, which is a part of HPP “Skopje Plain” („Skopsko pole‟), it is planned to irrigate the areas near the village Drachevica, on the left bank of Markova River, as well as the areas around the villages Dobri Dol, Rakotinci, Drisla and Chuchkova strana (up to the Chuprijan site).
There is only one irrigation system in the region:
1. Skopje area, rivers Vardar, Treska, Lepenec and Markova River, covers an area of 1.428 ha and has a quantity of water of 10.449.000 m3.
The current hydro-ameliorative system features weak technical condition of its facilities, stations and equipment, high losses of water, low efficiency use, insufficient capacity for changes of the flow through channels, no regulation of flow in transmission structures (channels and pipelines), etc.
Drainage
The drainage system of surface waters, Skopje Pole plain, covers a total area of 6600 hectares and the main recipient of drain water is Vardar River.
The present condition of the drainage system in Skopje region is not satisfactory when it comes to the recipients and the remaining channel network with its facilities, as well as the detailed channel network. Even though over the last years activities have been undertaken to cleanse the channels, still some of the channels are encroached with vegetation, by which their drainage capacity is reduced.
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Another issue, especially in the Municipality of Ilinden, is high groundwater which appears on the surface and damages agricultural production, construction and infrastructure.
Soil The remarkable expansion of the urban sector is a significant mechanism for soil degradation in Skopje region (primarily by way of its reallocation and „sealing‟ by constructing housing buildings, industrial facilities, streets, roads, etc.). A reason for soil degradation on the territory of Skopje region is local pollution from industrial facilities and landfills, and diffusion of pollution as a result of atmospheric deposition of gas emissions from industry and traffic. Agricultural soil is being degraded due to the inappropriate use of fertilisers and plant protection products, as well as due to irrigation using waters drained from inadequately treated waste.
Industrial contamination
Industrially contaminated area
Industrial area
Factories
Industrial contamination in the Northeast Region
On the territory of Skopje region, several industrial hotbeds have been identified. They all have arisen from the operation of industrial complexes that were in state ownership and upon their closure, in the years of transition towards market economy, there were landfills left of higher quantities of industrial waste that are to be taken care of, in order to prevent migration of contaminating substances in
58 the soil, surface and groundwater, and in exceptional cases, even emissions in the air.
Industrial hotbeds:
Industrial landfill of ‟OHIS‟ AD Skopje;
Area of GODEL factory (leather factory), and
Slag landfill within „Makstil‟ Skopje
Approximately 10.000 tonnes of hazardous chlorinated organic substances (technical mixture of HCH – hexachlorocyclohexane isomers) have been kept in certain concreted storage houses for over 20 years in the complex „OHIS‟. In the area of „OHIS‟, apart from the aforementioned hazardous waste, there is another type of inappropriately stored industrial waste present on an area of 65.000 m2. It is considered that there are eight tonnes of mercury stored in the area of the factory.
The leather factory „Godel‟ in Skopje is stated as a „hotbed‟ due to the contamination it caused to certain environment media, among which soil as well. The contamination of soil is mainly by heavy metals and organic substances. Most present of the heavy metals is the chromium, which is indispensable in the process of leather tanning. The presence of chromium in the soil of the former factory „Godel‟ is estimated to enormous 14.400 mg/kg soil.
Erosion In Skopje region, an area of 55.285 ha or 31% of the total area is considered to be under I-III category of erosion, whereas 125.807 ha, that is to say 69%, under IV and V category. 2.805 ha thereof are affected by strongest erosion processes (I-II category). In the western part of the region, the strongest category processes (deep erosion and extreme surface erosion) can be found in the area of the villages Svilare and Kondovo. Some of them are in the Svilarska River drainage basin, whereas some are direct tributaries of Vardar River. Such extreme processes are also present in the Markova River drainage basin. Processes of II category of erosion can be found on many other locations in Skopje region,
59 especially in the drainage basins of Radushka River, Svilarska River, in the highest parts of Rashtanska River, as well as in the high parts of Markova River.
From the detailed overview of the drainage basins of torrential watercourses it may be noticed that 32 drainage basins of torrential watercourses in the region are of III erosion category. Sustainable forest management is crucial for protection against erosion and for maintaining hydro balance. In this context, appropriate anti-erosion agro-technical measures should be used on agricultural areas.
Risks from torrents are related to the potential damage that would incur as a result of flood. Until today, many structural measures have been undertaken to minimise the risks of the most aggressive torrential watercourses, such as the measures for Serava River and Rashtanska River. Namely, Serava River was arranged with hydro technical facilities, but also rotation of the bed was performed, as well as its connection with Momin brook. On the right bank of Vardar River there are several torrents: Vodnjan series, Upper Vodnjan torrent, Gjorche Petrov torrential series and the Eastern torrential series. Markova River has an especially torrential character, as well as the rivers Mala Rada, Drachevica, Studenichani torrent and Zelenikovska River.
Within the regulated basin of Vardar River there are bottlenecks, especially near the bridge in village Dolno Lisiche, the iron bridge in village Saraj and village Trubarevo, the bridge in village Rashche and the footbridge in old Sajmishte. Out of more than 10.000 ha endangered areas (urban settlements, village settlements, agricultural land), there are 4.000 ha left being areas without a dam and protection against floods.
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Active landslide Unstable slope Rockslide Torrential stream Forests under threat of fire Zones potential of: Falling rocks Liquefaction Zones of inverse fogs Slides Areas under threat of floods Landslides Zones with rains up to 700 mm
Erosion and natural hazards – Spatial plan of the Republic of Macedonia
The erosion intensity of the water economy area in Skopje Planning Region is as follows:
Table 36
Area category IV-V General category and Area Area category I-III (km2) (km2) coefficient
666,91 1.273,93 III Skopje (34,36 %) (65,64 %) z=0,43
The quantity of eroded sediments (m3/year) in Skopje water economy area amounts to 1.244.078, whereas the quantity of intercepted sediments (m3/year) to 597.779. The percentage of intercepted sediments is 48%.
The annual quantity of intercepted sediments in the water storages of Treska River, Kozjak and Matka amounts to 412.643 m3/year.
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Air
In general, air pollution is seasonal, which is related both to the meteorological conditions (anti-cyclonic conditions in days of fog and temperature inversions) and to the increased emission of harmful substances, when apart from the industrial facilities and traffic, thermal power stations and individual fireboxes are also active.
Air quality in the broader project area on the territory of the City of Skopje is predominantly determined by several driving forces – sectors and types of polluters: traffic, industrial facilities, organisations / installations possessing heat- only boiler stations and individual fireboxes.
Pollution of ambient air in the City of Skopje originates from various types of sources, which are methodologically classified as stationary (dotted and surface), mobile and fugitive sources.
Stationary sources encompass combustion processes in energy transformation stations with power higher than 1 MW, combustion processes in production industrial facilities, remaining combustion stations with power lower than 1 MW and home fireboxes. In terms of heat production stations, there is a classification of dotted (higher power stations– thermal power stations and heat-only boiler stations with power higher than 1 MW) and surface emissions (heat-only boiler stations with power lower than 1 MW and home fireboxes).
According to the data of the Cadastre of Air Polluters and Pollutants, in the City of Skopje there are 276 business entities registered (152 non-production and 124 production) that emit polluting substances in the ambient air. According to the same source, the number of emissions, i.e. sources among these business entities amounts to 698, whereby 234 are surface and 464 dotted sources. This indicates that the number of emissions from energy stations is almost twice as big as the one of emissions from industrial facilities, even though in terms of area coverage industrial facilities located in the four industrial zones are predominant (North-eastern, Eastern, South-eastern and Western industrial zone of the city).
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Mobile sources encompass the means of transport in the sector of traffic, as well as mobile mechanisation in industry, agriculture and forestry.
In Skopje region there are winds blowing from all directions and inter-directions, but along the Valley of Vardar River the wind Vardarec predominates, coming out of the north-east, south-east and south direction.
Such climate features of Skopje Valley, concentration of industrial facilities and population leads to disruption of the prescribed ambient air quality standards. The monitoring network of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (MEPP) managed by the Macedonian Environmental Information Centre (MEIC) is an automatic ambient air quality monitoring network. The other two networks are operated manually. The Health Protection Institute (HPI) has a monitoring network on measuring SO2 and black smoke on 7 measuring locations in Skopje. The National Hydro-meteorological Service (NHS) has installed a network on 9 measuring locations in Skopje to measure the concentration of black smoke and
SO2.
MESP has 4 static automatic monitoring stations to monitor ambient air quality in 3 Skopje, by which the following parameters are monitored: SO2 [μg/m ]; NO2. NOx 3 3 3 NO [μg/m ]; CO [μg/m ]; О3 - ozone [μg/m ]; solid particles (PM10/opt. PM2.5) presented in μg/m3. Automatic monitoring stations also measure meteorological parameters, as follows: speed of wind [m/s]; wind direction; temperature [°C]; pressure [hPa]; humidity [%[; global radiation [W/m2] .
Within the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning there is a network of automatic ambient air quality monitoring stations which are installed on 5 measuring sites, as follows: 5 measuring stations in Skopje (installed in the measuring sites of Karposh, Centar, Lisiche, Gazi Baba and in the yard of the Chancellor‟s Office of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, that is to say, measuring location Chancellor‟s Office).
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Table 37. Border-value 2009 2010 2011
50 μg/ m3 which should not be Highest average mid-day 3 exceeded for more than 35 144 104 88 concentration of PM10 (μg/m ) days in one calendar year
Average annual concentration of 40 μg/m3 medium annual 3 17,95 13 15 NO2 (μg/m ) border-value
th 26 highest maximum eight-hour 3 3 120 μg/m 142 125 126 medium concentration of О3 (μg/m )
th 4 highest average mid-day 3 3 125 μg/m 61 72 74 concentration of SO2 (μg/m )
Nature
Skopje Planning Region features wonderful nature which is subject to diverse protection. Skopje Valley is surrounded by mountains which hide tremendous natural values in themselves. Some of these areas are under protection as significant natural areas, or in line with the legislation, they have been proposed or declared as protected areas.
Most well-known natural representative areas subject to strict protection in Skopje region are: Matka Canyon and Jasen.
These representative areas represent an integral entirety which in itself encompasses biological and geo-morphological diversity, and they are of great cultural and historical value.
Most significant underground rocky shapes in the Matka Canyon are the caves Vrelo, Krshtalna and Ubava, the pit Srt and the underground cave Koritishte. As a complex unit which covers water and land ecosystems, the protected area Matka Canyon is an exclusively restricted area with a high level of biological diversity, heterogeneity and endemism, which is considered to be one of the most impressive Macedonian “hotspots” in regard to biodiversity and presence of endemic species.
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SKOPJE PLANNING REGION
Map Representative protected areas Areas proposed for protection in line with SP Newly identified areas for protection
The origin and genesis of complex species of flora and fauna in the protected area are closely linked to the regional geologic history and climate change during the Pleistocene glaciations, interglacial stages and post-glacial period, which had resulted in massive repeated migrations and merging of species from various zoogeographic regions.
As a result, the structure of recent biological diversity is very heterogeneous, comprised of diverse complexes of flora and fauna elements concentrated in a relatively small area, which ensures for the Mediterranean species to meet together with Alp, Siberian (boreal) or steppe species.
The flora of the protected area is represented by over 700 taxons of vascular plants, belonging to 81 families and over 300 kins. In the protected area, there are over 50 local, national and Balkan endemites.
The total number of species of fauna registered on the territory of the protected area Matka Canyon reaches 1.474 species, with a total of 58 endemic species of invertebrates, 13 species of which are Balkan endemites, 26 species are national endemites and 19 species are local endemites (with an area of distribution
65 limited to the protected area), and there is also a determined presence of 13 autochthonous species of fish.
On the territory of the area of Matka Canyon, presence has been stated of 32 species of herpetofauna (10 amphibians and 22 reptiles), which is 68% of the total number of amphibians and reptiles on national level, which are represented with 47 species.
On the territory of the protected area Matka Canyon, presence has been registered of a total of 113 species of birds, 88 species of which are year-round, whereas the remaining ones are migratory species.
The multipurpose area Jasen is a protected area full of diversity in natural values. Within the borders of the multipurpose area Jasen there are several sites which are of special significance when it comes to the fauna of bats. Here we would highlight the caves Vrelo, Krshtalna and Jasika, as well as the Canyon of Treska River. In the cave Vrelo, presence has been determined of the following relevant bat species: lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposiderus) and Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus Euryale). In the cave Krshtalna, the following bat species have been registered: lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposiderus), Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus Euryale), common bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersi) and long-fingered bat (Myotis capaccinii).
In the cave Jasika, presence has been registered of the species greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum). After the Canyon of Treska River, near the monastery St. Andrea, presence has been determined of the species greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum).
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Areas proposed for protection in Skopje Planning Region according to the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Macedonia
On the territory of Skopje Planning Region, other natural values are also scattered which are defined as sites, but some of them are integrated within wider protected areas:
Gornjani
Dechki kamen
The caves Dona Duka, Vrelo, Krshtalna, Ubava, Svetla, Hristijanova, Shpela bozgun and Drachevo cave.
Kadina and Taor Gorge
Solunska Glava
Lisec
Salakovski Lakes
Pit Propast Solunska and
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The newly proposed NP Jakupica
In accordance with the spatial plan, Jakupica has been proposed as a protected area of highest rank, National Park, for the purpose of protection of biodiversity, its geo-morphological importance, protection of watercourses, landscape protection and its hydro potential. The future national park Jakupica is located almost in the central part of the Republic of Macedonia, bordered in the north by Skopje Valley, and in the south by Pelagonia Valley. In the east, it is defined by the drainage basin of Vardar River, whereas in the west by the Porech basin.
The insect fauna on Jakupica features a large number of endemic and relict species of ground beetles. In the Alp zone, the following can be found: Nebria ganglbaueri matejkai, Zabrus albanicus jakupicensis, Z. ganglbaueri, Calathus jakipicaensis, Trechus pachycerus pachycerus, T. pachycerus jakupicaensis, T. goebli matchai, T. subnotatus golesnicensis. In mesophyll forests, the following endemic species are found: Molops matchai, M. rufipes jakupicaensis, Tapinopterus miridita jakupicaensis, Tapinopterus macedonicus, Pterostichus macedonicus, P.crassiusculus. From among the other endemic species of invertebrates, the following may be mentioned: Babuniella prouzai, Brachydesmus macedonicus (centipedes), the rove beetle Lathrobium jakupicense (Staphylinidae, Coleoptera), Otiorhynchus jakupicensis (Curculionidaem Coleoptera), Montenegrina janinensis jakupicensis, Gyralina gyralinaeformis, Alinda nordsiecki, A. serbica golesnicensis, Vitrea siveci, Chilostoma jakupicae (snails). In the higher parts, Bohemanella frigidа can be found – a rare grasshopper with a disjunctive area of distribution. In the area proposed to be protected, a large number of pits and caves are to be found, on the basis of which many troglobite species have been described.
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2. Planning
2.1. Vision Skopje Planning Region is a competitive region in SEE with a recognisable potential for investments and development for the benefit of raising the living standard and quality of life of its citizens and equal utilisation and protection of natural and cultural heritage in the region.
2.2. Mid-term goals, priorities and measures
Mid-term goal 1. Improved competitiveness of the region by stimulating and developing SMEs, main industries and developing a modern infrastructure
Skopje region contributes to 44% in the total GDP and the total gross value added in Macedonia. The region has an exceptionally large potential for economic development. It has a wide pool of businesses, from micro enterprises to large companies. More than one third of active business entities are located in the region, and a large part of foreign investors decide to invest right here as well. With regard to the access to foreign markets, Skopje region is most probably in the most favourable position taking into consideration its infrastructural setup, its proximity to adequate road routes and various means of transport. In addition, the region has a diversified structure of labour force which enables provision of appropriate human resources by the private sector.
Nevertheless, Skopje region still envisions itself as competitive on the level of Southeast Europe and for that to happen it is necessary to improve in a series of segments, among which flowing the effects from foreign investments over the local economy, adaptation of labour supply in line with the needs of the private sector, support to SMEs and stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit, etc.
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Indicator Indicator No. Indicators Base year 2019
1 GDP, in millions of Denars 202474 216647 (7%)
2. Unemployment rate 29.3 % 24 %
3. Gross value added, in millions of Denars 174534 186751 (7%)
Priorities set for the achievement of this mid-term goal:
Priority 1.1
Increasing the cooperation between domestic and foreign companies
Taking into account that most of the active business entities are located in Skopje region, it has a large potential to deepen the cooperation between domestic and foreign companies. Implementing activities aimed at connecting companies will ensure utilisation of that potential and economic development of the region.
Output Indicators
Database of active companies in the region Number of partnerships concluded, that is to say companies (domestic Number of companies which are a part of the database of active companies on and foreign) that have started regional level cooperation on the basis of Number of organised meetings intended for networking among companies measures undertaken to increase the cooperation between domestic Number of users of the database of active companies in the region and foreign companies Number of companies that have taken part in networking events (meetings) Scope of economic cooperation of companies (domestic and foreign) Number of companies covered by the survey on the needs of domestic and that have started cooperating on the foreign companies basis of measures undertaken to Profiles of companies developed in terms of their needs/ opportunities for increase the cooperation between cooperation with other companies domestic and foreign companies Number of meetings held between the units of local self-government for the Number of employees in companies setting up of a database of active companies in the region who have taken part in measures to increase the cooperation between Number of companies that have introduced quality management systems domestic and foreign companies
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
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Measure 1.1.1
Setting up a database for the needs of the business sector
Even though a large part of municipalities face the need for information about companies functioning on their territory, only a small part of the municipalities in Skopje region have undertaken certain activities in order to develop an appropriate database. The development of such a database will give a full overview of the representation of active business entities in the region and their needs. By having an integrated approach on regional level and cooperation between the units of local self-government, creation of unified data will be ensured, which will give a continuous account of the private sector in the region.
The implementation of this measure means establishing cooperation between municipalities in the region, harmonising necessary information and a joint appearance before the respective stakeholders that could provide the required information.
Indicative activities
Analysis of the private sector in a sector in the region; Cooperation between the units of local self-government for the purpose of providing unified data from the Central Trade Registry on active companies; Organising meetings between the units of local self-government; Determining a set of unified data on active companies in the region; Drafting model forms for provision of data; Joint appearance of municipalities in the communication with institutions on national level; Electronically available database of active companies in the region.
Measure 1.1.2
Promoting cooperation between companies in the region
A large part of domestic companies operate in Skopje region. Furthermore, most of the foreign investors decide to invest here as well. Therefore, the region has a broad pool of companies operating in various fields, which creates opportunities for establishing cooperation and development of the private sector. In spite of this advantage, weak cooperation between domestic and foreign companies has been recorded, which leads to not achieving the optimum effects of having the
71 presence of foreign investments. This negative occurrence is due to the poor level of information and awareness about the profile of companies in the region, opportunities for cooperation, necessary capacities to establish business cooperation, etc.
For the implementation of this measure, it is necessary to:
- Conduct an analysis on the profiles of companies operating in the region - Increase the level of information among companies about the needs and opportunities for cooperation - Organise events and meetings between companies in order to spark mutual cooperation
Indicative activities
Projects on linking domestic and foreign companies; Organising meetings between companies per field of operation; Private sector networking (domestic and domestic companies; domestic and foreign companies); Analysis of the needs of foreign companies; Conducting surveys; Analysis of the opportunities for cooperation of domestic companies; Informative sessions and workshops about the opportunities for cooperation between companies; Informative sessions about the necessary capacities of domestic companies for cooperation with foreign companies.
Priority 1.2
Harmonising labour supply and demand
Most of the educational institutions offering informal education are located in Skopje region. A large number of young people on the level of the whole country decide to obtain their education in Skopje region, whereby they remain there and continue living there in an attempt to find employment. This creates sound preconditions for creating a broader labour supply that could respond to the needs of the business sector. On the other hand, the private sector often reacts from the perspective of having inadequate qualifications among young people which leads to certain costs among companies and their reduced productivity.
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Outputs Indicators
Number of trainings, workshops, etc. organised Number of companies that have taken part in measures on harmonisation of labour supply Analyses conducted and demand Survey questionnaires conducted Level of satisfaction among companies having Number of companies involved in a labour market needs survey taken part in measures on harmonisation of labour supply and demand Promotion of skills demanded on the labour market Number of persons who have participated in Number of informational materials developed and disseminated qualification programmes, further training programmes, etc. Number of projects implemented Capacities increased / Knowledge acquired of Number of activities on harmonisation of the supply with labour market persons who have participated in qualification needs programmes, further training programmes, etc.
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 1.2.1
Survey on labour market needs
For years now, in a continuous fashion, certain state institutions have been conducting survey activities aimed at identifying labour market needs. On the basis of information obtained, activities have been organised that would respond to those needs, nevertheless, in communication with the private sector one gets the impression that in certain segments the labour force does not fully correspond to the needs of companies and the labour profiles they would hire. The Centre for Development of Skopje Planning Region and the municipalities in the region are in a favourable position working directly with the key stakeholders wherefrom they could obtain useful information on the labour market demand. In that context, they could also be complementary to the state institutions that are working in this regard with the purpose of more effective identification of needs.
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Indicative activities
Setting up a pool of companies which will be covered by the survey; Drafting and distribution of survey questionnaires; Communication with companies which will be covered by the survey; Analysis reflecting the needs of the business sector; Drafting and implementation of projects which will address the conclusions of the survey in terms of labour market needs; Promotion and raising the level of information on labour market needs.
Measure 1.2.2
Implementation of qualification, re-qualification and further training programmes
In the Republic of Macedonia, certain institutions have already been working on implementation of qualification, re-qualification and further training programmes. However, this measure adds to the aforementioned measure and its aim is to appropriately address the conclusions arisen from the labour market needs survey. Taking into consideration that institutions on local and regional level work directly with key stakeholders, they can establish cooperation and initiate a consultative process which will contribute towards developing effective qualification, re-qualification and further training programmes. In addition, this approach could also mean involvement of companies in the process of capacity building of the necessary staff.
Indicative activities
Determining the needs for training programmes; Development of qualification, further training curricula, etc.; Development of informational materials; Cooperation with companies for joint training implementation; Cooperation with the private sector with the aim of increasing their capacities/ human resources; Educational materials developed.
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Priority 1.3
Development of SMEs
More than one third of all active business entities are located in Skopje region. The same ratio also applies when it comes to the representation of SMEs. Moreover, the percentage of newly established enterprises in Skopje region amounts to almost 40%, which indicates preparedness among the population for setting up a business. Small and medium enterprises are exceptionally important for Skopje Planning Region, taking into account that they are generators of jobs and a driving force for economic development.
Outputs Indicators
Number of supported business incubators and technology parks Number of newly employed persons in companies (existing and newly established) located in supported business incubators and technology parks Number of companies in supported business incubators and technology parks Income and profit growth of companies located in supported business incubators and technology Number of SMEs supported parks Number of study visits conducted Number of newly employed persons in supported Number of fairs visited SMEs Trainings conducted Income and profit growth of supported SMEs Number of training programmes developed Level of satisfaction among participants having taken part in capacity building events Number of SMEs awarded Level of knowledge acquired among participants in Number of participants in capacity building events capacity building events Number of companies informed about various funding Number of companies that have secured funding programmes from various programmes Number of companies having applied in various funding programmes
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 1.3.1
Facilitation of business conditions for SMEs
A large number of institutions on various levels have an influence over the business climate where SMEs operate. Numerous activities are undertaken on national level, which are beyond the competences of institutions on local and national level, but it is a fact that to a certain extent these institutions can also contribute towards improving the operating conditions of the private sector. This contribution may appear in various forms, from initiatives to determine certain
75 benefits to undertaking concrete measures to reduce the administrative burden of business management.
Indicative activities
Cooperation with the private sector in improving the conditions for their operation; Identification of challenges faced by the private sector; Implementation of measures and activities on local and regional level aimed at support to the private sector; Initiatives for the implementation of stimulating measures by municipalities for business management; Initiatives for facilitation of business management procedures on local and regional level.
Measure 1.3.2
Support for opening and functioning of science-based business centres
Certain state institutions, such as the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Innovation Fund, etc. already plan some activities related to this measure. Taking this into consideration, the introduction of complementary activities may lead to effects of synergy by which the benefit of implementing this measure would increase. Namely, institutions on local and regional level may secure or they might already have good information about the situation on the field, can contribute towards raising the level of information regarding the benefits of this approach and finally they can consider providing support themselves which could be in the form of securing locations, human resources, financial resources, etc.
Indicative activities
Mapping and securing locations for opening business incubators and technology parks; Identification of kinds of support to business incubators and technology parks; Support by means of human resources; Financial support; Organising informative sessions on presenting the concept of science-based business centres; Stimulating companies and presenting the benefits of science-based business centres; Linking the private sector with science-based business centres; Support in preparing an operational plan of science-based business centres; Development of promotional materials.
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Measure 1.3.3
Exchange of experiences and know-how
Activities aimed at exchanging experiences and know-how lead towards increasing the capacities by learning from best practices, but they also ensure presentation of one‟s own products and services and establishing cooperation. Apart from organising certain activities, the work of certain relevant institutions should also be taken into account. For instance, the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility is in charge of European programmes that support exchange of experiences with EU member states. Cooperation with this institution could lead to implementation of effective activities in support to SMEs.
The implementation of this measure will be aimed at organising study visits, visits to fairs, to successful foreign companies, etc.
Indicative activities
Visits to fairs; Study visits; Organisation of visits to similar companies with a view to exchanging experiences; Presentation of products; Meetings to establish cooperation with other companies; Development of learning materials with presented case studies.
Measure 1.3.4
Increasing the human capital
The level of labour productivity in Skopje region is on significantly higher level compared to other regions in the country. As a result of this and of other indicators, Skopje region is the most developed region in Macedonia. This constitutes the obvious relation between the level of human capital and the regional economy development, and every activity aimed at increasing the human capital is of direct benefit to the regional economy.
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The implementation of this measure involves organisation of capacity building events, organisation of a process of internship in companies abroad, etc.
Indicative activities
Organisation of a process of internship in companies/ institutions abroad; Cooperation with the National Agency for European Educational Programmes and Mobility in supporting enterprises; Informative sessions on opportunities for visiting companies abroad; Trainings; Development of informational materials.
Measure 1.3.5
Stimulating SMEs
The purpose of this measure is to build the entrepreneurial spirit among the population by organizing public events for promotion of successful businesses, presentation of the benefits of managing an own business, etc. For the implementation of this measure it is necessary to have close cooperation with institutions on national and local level.
Indicative activities
Campaigns on building the entrepreneurial spirit; Development of promotional materials; Organisation of events for promotion of successful SMEs; Cooperation with relevant institutions (Ministry of Economy) for promotion of SMEs; Awards and acknowledgements for SMEs.
Measure 1.3.6
Improved access to funds
There are a large number of programmes and funds available for financing, of which the SMEs sector is not sufficiently informed or does not possess the appropriate capacities to recognise these opportunities. Ever more funding opportunities open for which regular and effective information provision is
78 necessary. Thus, the utilisation of existing funding opportunities is on a relatively unfavourable level. Apart from funding programmes, there are also other kinds of financing, such as PPP, for which there is a low level of awareness and insufficient knowledge as well. The implementation of this measure will be directed towards:
Increasing the level of information about funding opportunities for SMEs Support to the SME sector in terms of access to funds Increasing the level of knowledge regarding the different types of funding and cooperation with state institutions (on all levels)
Indicative activities
Identification of financing programmes and funds suitable for SMEs; Establishing cooperation with institutions and organisations offering funding opportunities for SMEs; Organisation of informative sessions and workshops; Conducting an analysis of possible forms of PPP and their presentation to municipalities and the private sector.
Priority 1.4
Improvement of transport and development of the transport and communication infrastructure
Outputs Indicators
Length of sections reconstructed (35 km) Number of passengers in road transport (+15%) Length of sections built (147,7) Number of projects implemented (10) Number of technical documentation prepared (15) Projects Implemented by other sources of New vehicle purchased financing (5) Length of bike lanes built Number of passengers in rail transport Number of alternative means of transport promoted Goods transported in rail transport Number of trainings, promotional and educational events Number of services offered in local air transport Number of underlays set Number of projects implemented by other Database created sources of financing Number of applications prepared Number of persons trained Number of ICT staff in municipalities Number of municipalities that are interconnected
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Number of e-services projects Number of applications implemented Number of applications prepared Number of GIS system users Number of web locations of municipalities developed by means of this Number of persons trained measure Number of new e-services offered by Number of promotions organised municipalities Information system created for the public transport on regional level Number of users of e-services; Number of projects for adaptation of infrastructure and equipment for Number of projects implemented by other movement of persons with special needs sources of financing Number of transport vehicles adapted for transport of persons with disabilities
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 1.4.1
Improvement and development of the transport infrastructure
The existence of a modern road infrastructure is one of the conditions to spark development. Road transport is the most flexible type of all means of transport and as such it is especially important in every-day life and work. The road transport network in Skopje region is well-developed. However, certain regional roads are not finalised. Certain sections of the regional road network are in a relatively poor condition, while a part of the road route R 1106 (Skopje – Kozjak Lake) does not meet the technical criteria of a regional road at all. The implementation of this measure will ensure improvement of the road infrastructure in Skopje Planning Region. Skopje region is well served with railway services. Nevertheless, the quality of these services is far from the desired level. Intensive economic development is nearly impossible without having a sound developed railway infrastructure and appropriate railway services. The implementation of this measure will aim at:
. Reconstruction, upgrade and construction of regional roads
. Reconstruction, upgrade and construction of local roads
. Increasing traffic safety
. Modernisation of railway infrastructure
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Indicative activities
Preparation of technical documentation; Campaigns on increasing traffic safety; Development of educational and promotional materials; Construction and reconstruction of local roads; Reconstruction of railway stations; Construction of a multimodal transport knot; Connection to the ring road.
Measure 1.4.2
Increasing mobility
Having a modern public transport contributes towards increasing population‟s mobility. The quality of public road transport in direction of rural populated areas is low, whereas public rail transport is on an exceedingly low level. There is still no integrated traffic management in the City of Skopje, while the rail transport is irregular, of low quality and slow. Only a small number of vehicles in public transport have been adapted for use by persons with disabilities, and architectural barriers present an unbridgeable obstacle in the movement of persons with disabilities. By implementing activities in view of meeting this priority, it will be contributed towards creation of conditions for mobility improvement in Skopje Planning Region for all traffic participants. Within this measure activities will be undertaken to:
. Improve public transport . Adapt vehicles according to the needs of persons with special needs . Remove architectural barriers and adapt transport infrastructure . Provide infrastructure for alternative means of city transport . Introduce appropriate signalisation and signalitics for persons with special needs
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Planned activities
Reconstruction and repair of existing bus stops; Construction of new bus stops; Projects on alternative means of public transport; Procurement of new locomotives and wagons; Construction of bike lanes and walking paths; Organisation of promotional events for alternative means of transport; Development of educational and promotional materials; Organisation of educational events; Procurement and promotion of electric vehicles; Introduction of a system of free-of-charge parking lots in the peripheries, and expensive parking lots in city centres; Adaptation of pavements and other traffic infrastructure; Adaptation of traffic lights and traffic signs; Procurement of appropriate vehicles.
Measure 1.4.3
E-governance
The use of information and communications technology is ever more present in every-day life and work. The improvement of services offered by public services using these technologies will significantly facilitate the access to and the use of those services. The competitiveness of an economy is in direct correlation with the level of use of these technologies. Ensuring access to these technologies for all citizens regardless of their level of education, their age, place of residence, whether these are persons with special needs or persons from marginalised groups, etc. is an imperative for Skopje Planning Region. The introduction of e- services by local self-governments is a process requiring relatively high financial resources and skilled staff. The use of new IT enables introduction of e-services on regional level through one centre.
Using the benefits from information society development is a need of all citizens. Ensuring access to the Internet is especially important for people who are marginalised, older people, persons with special needs, persons living in rural
82 populated areas far away from municipal centres, as well as persons having limited possibilities in using new technologies. At the same time, by ensuring e- access it is also essential to improve digital literacy, i.e. to improve ICT skills and abilities of target groups. The implementation of this measure will improve accessibility of population and will enhance population‟s ICT knowledge and skills.
Enhancing digital literacy
Introduction of e-services
E-government
Planned activities
Procurement of an appropriate software; Improvement of infrastructure; Public administration trainings; Development of promotional materials and guidelines; Projects on introduction of e-services on regional level (PPP, cloud-computing service providers); Promotion of e-services; Development of WEB portals where citizens will be able to participate in decision making on local level; E-government training; Software procurement; Support to projects on development of e-governance; Introduction of IT operation of local self-governments.
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Priority 1.5
Rural and agricultural development
Outputs Indicators
Local infrastructure studies (3) Irrigation and road network improved for more intensive rural development Projects on reconstruction of old and construction of new infrastructure (5) New facilities constructed (kindergartens, clubs of pensioners) Projects on socialisation centres (3) Region‟s development planning organised Established LAGs in the region Production of uniform products organised and Workshops on raising the awareness of joint placement of those products improved operation of farmers (3) Reduction of production expenses Trainings in strengthening capacities of farmers (10) Events aimed at promotion of local products (3)
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 1.5.1
Improvement and development of agricultural infrastructure and social life in rural areas
Apart from the need for modern infrastructure for a more intensive process of production and marketing activities of products from rural areas, there is an ever greater need for social infrastructure for the youngest and oldest population in villages. The proximity of rural areas within highly urbanised Skopje municipalities gives the opportunity for simple promotion of villages and rural life in general, including agricultural production. This measure foresees the following indicative activities:
Indicative activities
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Survey on priority needs for local irrigation infrastructure; Preparation of studies on the necessary irrigation infrastructure, access roads and electricity; Establishment of socialisation centres – rural diversification (kindergartens, clubs of pensioners, etc.); Educational village activities for promotion of agriculture among pupils in coordination with primary schools; Development of a database regarding the state of existing rural roads and their reconstruction priorities and the need for construction of new roads; Implementation of projects on reconstruction of old and development of new infrastructure; Implementation of projects on promotion of fisheries and aquaculture.
Measure 1.5.2
Promotion of joint cooperation aimed at development of industry and institutions in rural areas
Farmers in Skopje region are the closest to science which is necessary for development of agriculture, but this cooperation is deduced to individual contacts without broader application. Even though the market in this region is the largest, there are neither higher quantities of uniform products originating from the region, nor stable contracts among entities for longer cooperation and production planning. This is even more important taking into account the fact that urbanisation in the region is ever more intensive and there are less and less available arable lands, being also ever smaller, that should be utilised by intensive production.
Indicative activities
Hiring experts for training in production and marketing of agricultural products; Establishment of LAGs; Workshops on raising the awareness on joint operation of farmers; Workshops on promoting the National Credit Guarantee Fund; Workshops on informing rural population about the available development funds.
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Priority 1.6
Areas with special development needs
Outputs Indicators
Length of sections of local roads reconstructed Number of inhabitants in areas with special development needs Length of newly constructed local roads Number of new investments in areas with Length of reconstructed or newly constructed water supply systems in special development needs areas with special development needs Number of newly opened job positions Length of newly constructed sewage systems in areas with special development needs Number of technical documentation prepared Number of projects on revitalisation of areas with special development needs
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 1.6.1
Basic infrastructure
The provision of basic conditions for normal life and work in areas with special development needs is a main precondition for revitalisation of these areas. A large part of the areas defined as areas with special development needs have no basic infrastructure for normal life. At the same time, the number of population has been continuously decreasing in the past decades and some of these areas are already on the verge of being completely deserted by inhabitants. By implementing this measure, it will be contributed towards decreasing the trend of desertion of these areas and conditions will be created for revitalisation of areas with special development needs.
Indicative activities
Reconstruction and construction of local road infrastructure; Construction of new water supply systems; Construction of new sewage systems; Preparation of technical documentation.
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Mid-term goal 2
Developed human capital corresponding to labour market needs and improved health and social protection
In the forthcoming period, significant efforts will be invested into increasing the human capital in Skopje region. This region has the best education infrastructure available on the level of whole Macedonia, which is an excellent precondition for activities to be implemented to harmonise labour supply and demand. The expected result of this kind of activities (in combination with economic growth measures) is reduction of unemployment, which will on the other hand lead to improved social protection and reduced social expenses.
Further on, economic growth is accompanied by a series of other social effects, such as the increased need for child social protection. It will be worked upon increasing social protection with an aim to keep up with the expected economic growth and the effects arising thereof in a timely and appropriate manner.
Indicator No. Indicators Indicator Base year 2019
1 Unemployment rate 29.3 % 24 %
Children in child care and educational institutions – 2. 12.663 16.000 kindergartens
Employees in child care and educational institutions – 3. 1.725 2.000 kindergartens
Households – recipients of social financial assistance 4. 17.70 15.00 aged 18+ (per 000 population)
Priorities set in order to reach this mid-term goal:
Priority 2.1
Increasing and improving school infrastructure
Even though compared to other regions in the Republic of Macedonia it can be stated that school infrastructure in Skopje region is in a good condition, there is
87 still both an opportunity and a need for improvement. There are intraregional differences, whereby infrastructure in rural areas is in a far worse condition. For the achievement of this objective it is necessary to boost cooperation between the various levels of government which would contribute to appropriate setting of priorities and resolution of real problems.
Outputs Indicators
Number of project applications prepared for increasing or improving Number of educational institutions/ school infrastructure facilities with improved infrastructure Number of projects prepared on increasing or improving school Reduced energy consumption per infrastructure square metre Number of project applications prepared for increasing or improving Consumption of renewable sources school infrastructure, taking into consideration energy efficiency energy measures or use of renewable energy sources Number of successful project Number of projects prepared on increasing or improving school applications for improving school infrastructure, taking into consideration energy efficiency measures or infrastructure use of renewable energy sources Number of students in educational Number of meetings and workshops held on planning projects/ institutions preparing project applications on increasing or improving school infrastructure
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 2.1.1
Reconstruction of educational institutions/ facilities
The Ministry of Education and Science has undertaken activities in this regard, but often what is questioned is the process of setting priorities for the implementation of projects of this kind. Namely, it would be good when prioritising the needs for infrastructural projects in educational institutions to use the bottom-up approach, whereby the region itself and the key stakeholders (municipalities) would have a proactive role. This approach would be of benefit not only when establishing cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, but also in terms of many other funding sources that could support activities of this kind.
Moreover, what especially needs to be taken into account are energy efficiency measures and/or measures for utilising renewable energy sources with a view to
88 increasing comfort in educational facilities and reducing the operating expenses of these public institutions.
Indicative activities
Identification of funding sources for reconstruction of educational institutions/ facilities; Identification of funding sources for energy efficiency measures and measures for renewable energy sources; Analysing/ mapping the state of the buildings of educational institutions; Setting up a priority list on regional level; Implementation of infrastructural projects on increasing and improving school infrastructure.
Measure 2.1.2
Support for preparation of projects
Preparation of projects and project applications remains to be a challenge for institutions on local and regional level. Some municipalities, especially the larger ones, have already obtained appropriate capacities, but smaller (rural) municipalities and other institutions on local level (e.g. schools) still require support. Precisely those persons who have a direct contact with educational institutions/ facilities, such as school representatives, kindergarten representatives, are the ones who can give the biggest contribution to the process of preparation of project applications. Involving them in this process will increase the quality of the projects and of the respective applications.
In this context, promotion of inter-municipal cooperation and transfer of know- how and experiences of larger municipalities together with the Centre for Development of Skopje Planning Region would be of utmost importance in building the capacities for project preparation on the level of the whole region.
Indicative activities
Support for preparation of projects; Trainings and workshops; Hiring experts; Exchange of experiences among municipalities; Meetings and gatherings between municipalities in order to exchange know-how with regard to preparation of project applications;
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Holding regular meetings with schools and kindergartens with the purpose of involving them in the process of preparation of project applications and building their capacities.
Priority 2.2
Education sector capacity building
Cooperation between educational institutions and the private sector is of mutual interest for both sides, it will contribute towards higher quality education which corresponds to the needs of the private sector. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to deepen the communication between the stakeholders with a view to creating curricula for acquiring appropriate knowledge and skills.
In addition, what should be worked on is dedication to talented children and sparking their development as human resources that could give a valuable contribution in their field.
Outputs Indicators
Number of meetings held between educational institutions and the private Number of persons who have done sector an internship Number of workshops Labour productivity growth in companies whose employees have Number of presentations done an internship in companies Number of companies offering internship posts abroad Number of companies whose employees have done an internship in Number of cooperation agreements companies abroad with companies abroad Talented children identified Level of knowledge acquired by talented children Number of meetings of talented children Results achieved among talented Study visits children in various fields Programmes for development of talented children developed
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 2.2.1
Improvement of communication between educational institutions and the private sector
Educational institutions and the private sector are the two sides appearing on the labour market. Communication between these two sides is indispensable in order
90 to overlap labour supply and demand. On the one hand, staff lack practical knowledge, but on the other, internship in given companies, institutions, etc. is not fully effective. Regular cooperation between stakeholders will contribute towards overcoming these challenges.
Furthermore, there are existing internship programmes in foreign companies offered through state institutions in Macedonia. Such information seldom reaches the private sector. Raising the awareness of the private sector about such possibilities will assist their employees in learning from best practice examples, but it will also open new possibilities for future cooperation with regard to appearing on foreign markets.
Indicative activities
Organisation of meetings between educational institutions and the private sector; Maintaining a regular discussion forum between the stakeholders; Raising internship initiatives; Presenting internship opportunities; Development of informational materials.
Measure 2.2.2
Support to and stimulation of talented children
The aim of this measure is to spark development of talented children and to prevent neglect of their potentials. Emphasis will be put on organisation of group work, study visits, mentorship, etc.
In addition, relations will be established with institutions and organisations already working in this field with a view to securing effects of synergy.
Indicative activities
Identification of talented children; Working with talented children in order to spark their development; Organisation of group work; Study visits; Exchange of experiences; Mentorship; Development of individual development programmes.
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Prioirity 2.3
Increasing and improving health and social protection
The process of decentralisation, the competences of the local self-government and social protection measures being implemented on national level open a plethora of cooperation opportunities on the various levels of government aimed at improving health and social protection. A general impression is that there is a lack of care facilities for people who belong to these categories and there is a need for enhancing infrastructure with a view to facilitating every-day movement.
Outputs Indicators
Number of kindergartens supported Number of facilities with secured access for persons with special needs Number of old people‟s nursing homes supported Number of persons with special needs whose Number of inter-municipal projects implemented access has been facilitated Number of facilities with improved access conditions for persons with Total area achieved by means of projects special needs which ensures facilitated movement of Number of projects implemented on improving the movement persons with special needs conditions for persons with special needs Number of children in newly opened Number of projects prepared on increasing and improving health and kindergartens social protection Number of persons in old people‟s nursing homes
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 2.3.1
Improvement of conditions of stay in educational institutions for persons with special needs
A series of activities are planned in order to improve access for persons with special needs to educational institutions. This has already become a legal obligation, thus the awareness of the need for implementation of such projects is on a higher level. In some institutions activities have already been implemented, but there is still more to do in this regard. Out of this reason, in the forthcoming period there will be a large number of activities implemented which will facilitate access for persons with special needs to school facilities. In addition, initiatives will be undertaken to involve appropriate experts in the process of education and care for persons with special needs.
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Indicative activities
Construction of access and appropriate infrastructure for persons with special needs in facilities; Preparation of projects; Determining financing opportunities; Joint appearance of several educational institutions for securing funds from potential donors; Organisation of activities within educational institutions themselves for securing funds; Initiatives for hiring expert staff in charge of care for the persons with special needs.
Measure 2.3.2
Support to opening kindergartens and old people’s nursing homes
An issue which has been often identified is the lack of kindergartens and an overabundant number of children in existing kindergartens. The increase in economic growth and the growth of employment in Skopje region will additionally heighten the need for opening appropriate facilities where children could be taken care of. The same applies to old people‟s nursing homes and their evident shortage.
On national level, certain benefits have already been determined in terms of potential investors, and the involvement of institutions on local and regional level will contribute to a more effective promotion before the stakeholders for setting up such a business, as well as to implementation of complementary measures which are within the competences of the local self-government.
Indicative activities
Cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy on promotion of stimulating measures for opening private kindergartens and old people‟s nursing homes; Organisation of informative sessions for potential investors; Drawing up and implementation of complementary measures by the local self-government; Mapping locations and securing location advantages; Promotion of PPP as a means of investment.
Measure 2.3.3
Improvement of movement conditions for persons with special needs
This measure refers to the everyday movement of persons with special needs. Current traffic infrastructure and construction expansion is limiting for the
93 freedom of movement of these persons. Even though various activities have been planned (and are implemented) on national level (including certain amendments to legislation) in order to improve the situation, there is a need for involvement of institutions on local and regional level with their own activities.
Indicative activities
Identification of priority road arteries for implementation of measures for improvement of movement conditions for persons with special needs; Preparation of projects; Locating financing opportunities; Implementation of infrastructural projects; Cooperation with relevant associations.
Mid-term goal 3
Improved quality of the environment in Skopje region
Preserved environment and existence of high environmental protection standards is the basis for sustainable development of a region. Planning development on the basis of the principle of sustainability, which stands for meeting the needs of the present generation in a way it enables future generations to have the same opportunities is an imperative for all modern societies. Environment quality is especially endangered in urban areas due to the high level of concentration of population and the economy. The mid-term goal 3 is aimed at improving the quality of the environment by establishing sustainable management of natural resources, fighting the causes of climate change, as well as adjusting to the consequences of climate change. Community care for the common resources, such as water, air and soil, indicates a society with higher values when it comes to its future and the future generations.
Indicator No. Indicators Indicator 2019 Base year
Number of days when the 24h border-value has been 1 exceeded on annual level in the measuring locations Lisiche 181; 159 35 and Centar in Skopje
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Percentage of treated water discharged in industry and 2. 0,02% 15% mining
Population coverage with municipal wastewater treatment 3. 0 % 15 % plants
Percentage of collected waste out of a total of 4. 85,4% 95% generated waste
Priorities set in order to reach this mid-term goal:
3.1 Municipal infrastructure
Outputs Indicators
Number of public campaigns prepared and organised Percentage of technical loss (- 20%) Number of projects implemented on minimising technical loss Percentage of rural Number of illicit connections found population covered by Number of water supply filtration plants constructed a water supply system Length of newly constructed water supply systems in rural areas Percentage of collected waste Trainings and workshops held Population coverage Guidelines drawn up with a waste collection Number of conducted actions and other activities system Trainings and workshops held Guidelines drawn up Regional waste management plan (1) developed Number of implemented activities on introducing waste selection and recycling
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
3.1.1 Development of water supply systems
Skopje region is comprised of urban and rural municipalities. In urban municipalities, that is to say in urban areas, there are water supply systems, whereas some rural populated areas have no water supply systems. Existing water supply systems are characterised by large technical loss of water in the systems, while the capacity of systems in rural areas is not adequate to the
95 number of population, that is to say, there is a lack of drinking water. The implementation of the measure will be directed at:
. Construction and development of water supply systems in rural areas
. Sustainable use of water, by minimising technical loss in water supply systems
. Improvement of the quality of services of PE
Indicative activities
Organisation of public campaigns on saving water; Projects on minimising technical water loss; Prevention of illicit connections; Construction of new containers and repair of existing ones in rural areas; Construction of water supply systems in rural populated areas; Activities on improving payments to the public municipal enterprise; Strengthening the capacities of the public municipal enterprise; Introduction of e-services; Procurement of appropriate equipment for the public municipal enterprise.
Measure 3.1.2
Improvement of wastewater drainage and treatment systems and development of storm water drainage systems
In Skopje region there is the largest concentration of inhabitants compared to other regions. Most of the industries and public institutions are located in Skopje region. Skopje region convincingly takes first place as per degree of development in Macedonia. At the same time, the percentage of population coverage with municipal wastewater treatment plants is 0. The quality of river water in Skopje region is not on the desired level. As a result of the low level of construction of the storm sewer, quite often, in case of torrential rains, the existing systems are not in a position to collect and drain this storm water which leads to flooding of certain road arteries. The implementation of measures stated within this priority will contribute towards improvement of the situation as regards wastewater
96 management, as well as to improvement in terms of storm water drainage systems. The implementation of the measure will be aimed at:
. Construction and development of municipal wastewater drainage and treatment systems in rural populated areas
. Construction of Skopje municipal wastewater treatment plant
. Development of storm sewer in the City of Skopje
Indicative activities
Construction of sewage systems in rural areas; Closure of open channels; Construction of storm sewer; Preparation of technical documentation with accompanying studies on treatment plant for the City of Skopje; Construction of small treatment plants in rural areas.
Measure 3.1.3
Regional waste management
Municipal solid waste management on the territory of the City of Skopje is under the responsibility of the Public Municipal Enterprise “Komunalec”, whereas for municipal waste collection in rural populated areas the responsibility lies with local municipal enterprises. Some rural populated areas are not covered by the service of municipal solid waste collection, transport and depositing. “Drisla” landfill is the only landfill on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia which meets the standards of a sanitary landfill. The introduction of regional waste management is the only right development of waste management and this is an imperative for the whole region. By this way of waste management, existing waste issues in Skopje region will be overcome to a large extent. The implementation of the measure will be aimed at:
. Improvement of the existing municipal solid waste management system
. Introduction of primary selection of recyclable fractions
. Regional municipal solid waste management
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Indicative activities
Removal of dump sites and illegal landfills; Repair and measures for improvement of existing local landfills; Introduction of waste collection services in rural populated areas; Introduction of primary waste selection; Activities to reduce waste generation; Selection of hazardous fractions of municipal waste (batteries); Cleaning actions on certain sites; Development of a regional municipal waste management plan; Preparation of a feasibility study and accompanying studies (socio-economic analysis, payment opportunity study, etc.); Preparation of technical documentation for implementation of regional municipal solid waste management.
Priority 3.2
Climate change and air protection
Climate and climate conditions are one of the basic existential conditions on a certain territory. The influence of atmospheric conditions over the environment is one of the elements that need to be taken into consideration in terms of spatial and urban planning of a territory. It is evident that there is a connection between the impact of human activities and the increase in greenhouse gas elements which, on the other hand, causes global warming and climate change. Climate change is an exceptional challenge for all of us and it has already had its impact on the socio-economic development in almost every corner of the Earth. What is necessary is change of lifestyle and habits in order to adapt to the changes. It is necessary that we take measures to fight the causes leading to climate change, but also adjustment measures, i.e. adapting to climate change. Over the past few years, the data on air quality in Skopje have shown large-scale air pollution with suspended particles sized up to 10 micrometres PM10. In certain locations, the total number of days when the threshold of permitted concentration of particles has been exceeded is also over 150 during just one year. The achievement of this priority will enhance the adjustment to incurred climate change and will contribute towards fighting the causes leading to climate change. At the same time, it will contribute towards improving air quality in Skopje.
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Outputs Indicators
Regional strategy on climate change drawn up Green area in the City of Skopje Number of projects implemented Number of implemented measures from the regional strategy on New green area in Skopje climate change Number of public campaigns, workshops, trainings organised Electricity production facility Number of informational materials developed and disseminated installed Number of educational activities in the education system Photovoltaic power stations Number of public buildings with improved energy efficiency Consumption of energy per sector Achieved savings in public buildings where measures have been Number of gas consumers taken to improve energy efficiency Gas consumption in m3 Length of constructed gas pipeline distribution network Emissions of harmful gases in the Support for thermal water solar systems implemented air Support for change in the heating methods implemented (especially Number of days with exceeded in terms of traditional firewood heating) concentration levels of harmful substances in the air Promotion of alternative heating methods Number of days when the 24h Construction of photovoltaic power stations border-value has been exceeded on Ambient air quality improvement plan in Skopje region annual level in the measuring locations Lisiche and Centar in Ambient air quality monitoring plan Skopje
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 3.2.1
Reducing air pollution
Increased air pollution is of greatest threat to our health. There are serious concerns that air pollution endangers human health in cities even more than smoking. Over the last few years, air pollution has reached alarmingly high levels. Suspended particles PM10 are one of the greatest pollutants of Skopje‟s air. Improvement of air quality in the City of Skopje can be achieved only by implementing various measures in various fields of human life. It is indispensable to take urgent actions and systematic solutions which would contribute to reducing air pollution in the City of Skopje. The implementation of the measure will be aimed at:
. Preserving and enlarging green spaces in the City of Skopje
. Promotion of alternative means of transport
. Promotion and support to new home heating methods
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. Promotion of public city transport
. Measures for reduction of the use of cars in days of increased pollution
Indicative activities
Organisation of public campaigns; Development of informational materials; Educational activities in the education system; Development of educational and promotional materials; Introduction of subsidies for investment in new heating methods; Implementation of pilot projects; Improvement of control over solid fuels used for heating; Construction of new green areas and planting trees in the City of Skopje.
Measure 3.2.2
Sustainable use of energy
Sustainable use of energy, that is to say, use of renewable energy sources together with improvement of energy efficiency can contribute towards reducing consumption of primary energy, and by that reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. One of the energy problems that the world faces today is pollution of the environment when producing energy, which influences climate change caused by over-exaggerated and irrational energy consumption. The ecological consequences of energy consumption are topics that have been neglected in our society for quite some long time. Today, this issue has however been recognised and it has been accepted that irrational energy consumption is unsustainable. The implementation of this measure will contribute towards improvement of energy efficiency of buildings, but also towards change to some of the habits present up to know and related to irrational spending of energy. The implementation of the measure will be aimed at:
. Improvement of energy efficiency in the public sector
. Promotion of energy savings
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. Promotion of renewable energy sources
Indicative activities
Analysis of heat loss of public buildings; Preparation of technical documentation on improving energy efficiency; Projects on introducing energy-savings lamps in public buildings; Implementation of projects on improving energy efficiency in public buildings; Replacement of street lamps with energy efficient lamps; Organisation of public campaigns; Development of informational materials; Educational activities in the education system; Introduction of subsidies for investments in new more efficient heating methods; Replacement of existing boilers with pellet heating in public buildings.
Measure 3.2.3
Gas pipeline distribution network
The level of construction of the gas pipeline network in Skopje Planning Region is not satisfactory. The feasibility study conducted for development of natural gas distribution network by which households would be supplied with natural gas, as well as other buildings from the commercial and services sector, has shown that the construction of a gas distribution network pays off for 10 municipalities in Skopje region. The implementation of the measure will ensure use of natural gas by households and other buildings from the commercial and services sector.
Indicative activities
Preparation of technical documentation; Construction of distributive urban network; Promotion of the use of natural gas.
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Priority 3.3
Nature and biodiversity protection
In Skopje region, areas have been located which are under protection as important natural areas, and in line with legislation they have been proposed or have already been declared as protected. Natural representative areas which are under strict protection in Skopje region are the following: Matka Canyon and Jasen. Nature and biodiversity in Skopje Planning Region are under a great threat from urbanisation. At the same time, there is also nature degradation. Nature and biodiversity protection is one of the primary priorities from the perspective of protecting the environment in the region. By implementing the measures under this priority, we will contribute towards more efficient nature and biodiversity protection, by reducing further nature degradation and pollution, and protecting the protected plant and animal species.
Outputs Indicators
Number of river monitoring stations Number of protected areas in the region Number of actions for prevention of illegal falling of Illegal falling of trees m3 trees Size of game Number of projects on biodiversity protection implemented Protected plant species Forested areas Number of protected animal species Number of plans on protected area management Cadastre of polluters in the region adopted River water quality
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 3.3.1
Promotion of protected areas
The natural representative areas Matka Canyon and Jasen, which are under strict protection, are located in Skopje Planning Region and they present an integral entirety including in itself an enormous biological and geo-morphological diversity; these are natural representative areas also having outstanding cultural and historical values. Apart from these protected areas on the territory of Skopje Planning Region, there are also other significant natural values which have been
102 predominantly defined as sites, and some of them have been integrated into larger protected areas. By implementing this measure, we will contribute towards promoting these areas and their sustainable use. The implementation of the measure will be aimed at:
. Declaration of new protected areas
. Sustainable use of protected areas
. Promotion of protected areas
Indicative activities
Plans on protected area management; Educational and promotional activities; Activities for declaring new protected areas; Projects on biodiversity protection in protected areas; Assessment of the main components of biological diversity in a bio-geographical context, communities and habitats and species; Projects on ex – situ protection of endangered plant species.
Measure 3.3.2
Stimulation of biodiversity protection
The process of endangering biodiversity on global level is ever greater. As a consequence, biodiversity is being diminished on an alarming scale and with catastrophic consequences. Biodiversity loss and climate change effects are the greatest threat for the environment which humanity faces. Sustainable use of nature is impossible without knowing and preserving biological diversity. By implementing the measure, we will contribute towards broader and enhanced protection of biodiversity and conditions will be created for its sustainable use.
The implementation of this measure will be aimed at:
. Development of new mechanisms for sustainable use of biodiversity
. Involvement of local population and local communities in planning, decision making and protecting biodiversity
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. Strengthening the capacities for biodiversity protection
. Revitalisation of endangered eco-systems
. Biodiversity monitoring system
Indicative activities
Projects on researching and defining biodiversity; Development of bio-indicators for monitoring pollution of biodiversity; Public campaigns and educational activities; Biodiversity protection actions and promotions; Development of management plans for environmentally and economically important species; Projects on forestation with autochthonous tree species; Projects on increasing the number of autochthonous species of game and fish; Re-cultivation of landscapes disrupted or endangered due to natural disasters; Strengthening controls over collecting self-seeding plants; Forestation, lawn seeding, melioration of degraded forests and pastures; Development of the necessary infrastructure for biodiversity protection.
Measure 3.3.3
Water resources and soil conservation
Skopje region has an abundance of water resources (surface and groundwater) which are under continuous pressure both from the industry and from population‟s municipal wastewater. In Skopje Valley there are 450 springs registered with a total annual discharge of 121 million m3. The use of spring potential up to now is approximately 108 million m3/ year. This indicates that we have a vast utilisation of spring potential which underlines the necessity of protecting groundwater. At the same time, the remarkable expansion of the urban sector in the region is a significant mechanism for soil degradation. A reason for soil degradation on the territory of Skopje region is local pollution from industrial facilities and landfills, and diffusion of pollution as a result of atmospheric deposition of gas emissions from industry and traffic. On the territory of Skopje region, several industrial hotbeds have been identified. In Skopje region, a part of the soil is affected by strongest erosion processes. By implementing the
104 measure, we will improve conservation of water resources and soil, above all from the perspective of preserving groundwater springs and protecting rivers, as well as reducing erosion processes. The implementation of the measure will be aimed at:
. Improvement of water management
. Strengthening water monitoring
. Improvement of fish stocks
. Regulation of rivers
. Activities for protection against erosion
. Repair of industrial hotbeds
Indicative activities
Forestation, lawn seeding, melioration of degraded forests and pastures; Melioration of degraded lands – soils; Construction and technical measures for protection against erosion; Activities for reducing soil contamination; Projects for repair and rehabilitation of industrial hotbeds; Strengthening the capacities of institutions in charge of water management; Increasing the number of measuring locations on surface flows; Establishing a regional monitoring system of surface flows; Establishing monitoring of groundwater; Fish stocking; Protection of fish stocks.
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Mid-term goal 4 Sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of tourism
Tourism is a phenomenon which expanded on a global scale during the XXth century, and that global scale is also characteristic for the XXIst century. Most probably there is no single country or region in the world which does not develop tourism to a smaller or larger extent. For many countries and regions, tourism has become one of the leading branches of economy. Tourism is a complex social, economic, cultural and spatial occurrence. The role and significance of tourism is enormous since it feeds the regional economy, it stimulates the process of development and it livens up the natural and cultural heritage. Tourism is one of the most dynamic economic occurrences of today and one of the generators of overall development. One of the main features of tourism is its ability to absorb large labour force. Today, in almost all regions of the world, there is a continuous increase in the international tourism movements. Skopje Planning Region is ranked second as per its tourism development on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. Tourism development in the region is one of the key strategic areas which will contribute to sustainable regional development. Latest data show a continuous growth in the number of tourists, especially foreign ones.
Indicator Indicator No. Indicators Base year 2019
1 Total number of tourists in the region 182.324 237.000
2. Average number of nights spent in the region 2,04 2,54
Percentage share of tourism turnover of Skopje Planning 3. 36,07% 38% Region in the overall turnover of RM
4. Number of beds 5142 5200
In the forthcoming period of five years, it is expected to have an increase in the total number of tourists by 30% compared to the base year, which means that the number of tourists will reach approximately 237 000. This estimate has been
106 done according to the analysis of the last five-year period, where the number of tourists has increased, but also the number of subsidised countries in the Republic of Macedonia has increased, just as the number of low-cost flight destinations. The increase in the number of tourists will be the result of both the achievement of the mid-term goal and of the priorities set.
The estimated increase in the second indicator – average number of nights spent, by half a day, is due to the fact that in this region there are predominantly business tourists coming. On the other hand, subsidising of neighbouring countries has begun, by which it is expected that those tourists would stay at least one week. Therefore, it is forecasted that tourists in Skopje region would stay on average approximately 2.54 days in 2019.
In the past three-year period, drastic decline can be noticed in terms of the tourism consumption, as well as in terms of its percentage share in the total tourism consumption of the Republic of Macedonia. In order to prevent this trend, changes are recommended which are foreseen by this mid-term goal and priorities until 2019, by which a stable percentage share would be expected in the amount of 38%.
As the second most developed region of tourism, as a result of the registered decline until now of the number of available beds, in the forthcoming period, by the changes introduced in the field of tourism development, stability of this figure is forecasted which would amount to 5200 available beds.
Priorities set in order to reach this mid-term goal:
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Priority 4.1 Strengthening the capacities and partnerships for the purpose of utilising natural and cultural heritage for the purposes of tourism development
Outputs Indicators
Number of tourism sectors/ departments in the region Tourism sectors/ departments put into service Number of tourist bureaus Tourist bureaus put into service Number of organised meetings and gatherings of all stakeholders related to tourism Number of trained candidates in training centres and issued certificates Number of concluded agreements in tourism Percentage share of all cluster Committee in the region established stakeholders Number of workshops and trainings held Periodical meetings of cluster members Services standardisation and quality certificates
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 4.1.1 Strengthening human resources in tourism, raising public awareness, capacity building and strengthening on local level
Tourism development depends to a large extent on the abilities, knowledge and competences of people involved in tourism. For this purpose, education and continuous upgrade of involved parties in tourism is necessary, as well as education and strengthening the capacities of local population – service providers. At the same time, it is necessary to hire qualified persons in the field of tourism in municipalities and to potentially form tourism departments.
This measure would be implemented by:
Organising training activities for newly employed persons Implementing lifelong learning programmes for the already employed persons Using experiences from abroad
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Indicative activities
Strengthening the role of formal and informal education centres;
Training for service providers in rural areas;
Organising study visits abroad;
Use of modern technologies for exchanging experiences.
Measure 4.1.2
Introducing an integrated tourist record system
In Skopje Planning Region there is a tourist record system, but it is not complete and it faces the need for meeting the needs of the large number of tourists ever more. For that purpose, it is desirable to introduce a new, more complex tourist record system, where tourists not staying the night in Skopje would also be recorded, as well as those who are a part of cruising tours. Furthermore, it is desirable that apart from the basic data of tourists, which are already collected, to also take into consideration their needs, the reasons why they visited the region, their satisfaction with the visit, whether they would return again, etc. This measure would be implemented by:
Selection of methodologies and methods of keeping records of tourists on various grounds Cooperation between the tourism business sector, municipal administrations, experts on developing survey tools and methods Linking institutions that collect data with all tourism stakeholders
Indicative activities
- Introduction of an integrated tourist record system; - Stimulating the use of an electronic record system of all stakeholders involved in tourism; - Development and dissemination of standardised survey questionnaires; - Processing and presentation of data by municipal tourism sectors/ departments.
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Measure 4.1.3
Stimulating the emergence of a tourism cluster
In order to strengthen itself as a tourist destination, Skopje Planning Region needs to achieve linkage and cooperation of all direct and indirect tourism stakeholders in a joint tourism cluster. Thus, the services of tourism service providers would improve, i.e. their products and services would be specialised. This measure would be implemented by:
Promotion of cluster benefits Holding cyclic meetings
Indicative activities
Establishment of a tourism cluster; Establishment of an organisational structure of the cluster; Organisation of regular meetings of cluster members; Linkage with travel agencies and the business sector; Promotion of the operation of the cluster; Networking of all participants.
Measure 4.1.4
Active usage of public-private partnerships
Public-private partnerships are one of the most significant models for successful implementation of projects in the field of tourism, where cooperation is needed among various players in the region and through which the interests of the public and the private sector are approximated. Namely, the most important tourist sites are managed as public good, whereas the use of services, i.e. the creation of a tourist offer is given to tourist business. This measure will be implemented by:
Provision of information and trainings for applying in a public-private partnership Promotion of the benefits of public-private partnerships
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Indicative activities
Establishment of procedures for public-private partnership and concessions;
Holding trainings for interested candidates in PPP;
Conclusion of PPP agreements;
Forming bodies that would manage the tourist attractions by a model of PPP.
Measure 1.4.5
Establishing a tourism development committee in Skopje Planning Region for tourist destination management
Skopje Planning Region is the second most developed tourist region in the Republic of Macedonia, so as a result it has the need for larger-scale organisation and better organisational setup with the purpose of precise definition of obligations and responsibilities of all stakeholders. This means synchronised action with mutually set strategic goals which will be obligatory for the participants in the tourism development committee. The implementation of this measure will be performed by:
Cooperation between LED sectors/ departments Cooperation between the business community, LED sectors and public enterprises
Indicative activities
Networking of tourism sectors/ departments in all municipalities in the region; Establishment of a tourism development committee in Skopje Planning Region; Interconnecting tourist bureaus in the region; Organisation of meetings for all stakeholders involved in tourism in the region on cyclic intervals.
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Priority 4.2 Improvement of tourist infrastructure
Outputs Indicators
Number of urban and architectural plans adopted Number and length (in km) of paths in rural areas leading to natural and cultural values Number of walking paths to natural and cultural values of tourism Equipped and arranged tourist attractions for Number of reconstructed and revitalised tourist attractions tourists Reconstructed and paved roads Amount of investment funds for Number of information centres and points constructed reconstructed infrastructure Constructed and revitalised camps
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
Measure 4.2.1
Preparation of urban planning documentation
In order to provide conditions for tourism development, first of all activities need to be undertaken to overcome the issue of urban planning documentation in the region. The measure would be implemented by:
Preparation of elaborates of the most significant tourist locations (urban planning documents outside of populated area) Conducting an appropriate categorisation of tourist facilities
Indicative activities
Development of urban architectural plans, documents; Implementation of a process of categorisation of tourism capacities; Outlining proposals on regulating the degree of protection of natural and cultural values; Preparation of elaborates on the capacity of the space surrounding the tourist site; Adoption of spatial planning documentation on info points and info centres; Preparation of architectural draft projects on revitalisation of old houses into accommodation and catering establishments.
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Measure 4.2.2
Provision of tourist infrastructure to and equipment on tourist attractions
In order for a tourist location to be able to welcome tourists, it needs to have modern tourist infrastructure and urban equipment, that is to say, to ensure adequate accommodation establishments, access roads, parking lots, restrooms, souvenir shops, benches, bins, etc.
The measure would be implemented by:
Preparation of studies regarding tourist sites Reconstruction of roads to tourist attractions Equipping the site with tourist equipment
Indicative activities
Construction of tourist infrastructure of tourist sites;
Promotion of tourist sites;
Attractive contents on tourist sites – hanging footbridge and life-saving station at Matka, bike lane for extreme biking from the Millennium Cross to Middle Vodno and other contents on tourist sites.
Measure 4.2.3
Improvement of the signalisation and visualisation of tourist attractions
Natural and cultural tourist attractions would remain unknown if their precise location is not known. For that purpose, it is essential to secure simple access for tourists, that is, it is necessary to mark them and to set up a multilingual signalisation. At the same time, tourist sites should have general information available on site, i.e. info boards, where basic data would be presented regarding the tourist attraction.
On the other hand, opening of info points and info centres would also ensure provision of information and promotion of both tourist potentials and individual service providers represented in the region. The informative contents would refer
113 to natural and cultural tourist potentials, their location, working hours, how to reach them, possibilities on additional and accompanying tourist activities. All this would contribute towards promotion of the image of Skopje Planning Region as a tourist destination, as well as to the experiencing quality of tourists themselves.
The measure would be implemented by:
Plan for construction and equipment of info points and info centres Setting up informative boards Mapping and setting priorities of tourism resources which will be signalised, as well as determining locations where boards will be set up Signalisation plan of important tourist attractions on the main roads Selection of activities for which a visualisation software will be developed
Indicative activities
Plan development and opening of info points, centres in the region; Improvement of the existing and setting up new roads and signalisation; Electronic informative boards throughout the region; Integration of software inside the info points with information on tourist attractions in the whole region; Development of applications (programmes) for presentation of the most significant cultural attractions in the region (Skupi, etc.).
Measure 4.2.4
Use of investment funds for revitalisation, conservation and protection of natural and cultural heritage
Skopje Planning Region has outstanding opportunities for tourism development, that is to say, it has a large representation of natural and cultural values of tourism. The goal of increasing the number of tourist visits to this region imposes the use and functioning of all tourist resources. As a result of the need to implement sustainable tourist forms, what needs to be developed and implemented are also methods and means of revitalisation, conservation and protection of resources. This measure will be implemented by:
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Training about the benefits of protected and preserved natural and cultural resources. Preparation of studies on natural and cultural values of tourism about their level of being endangered and the need for protection. Use of experiences in protecting natural and cultural heritage from the country and abroad
Indicative activities
Trainings for the local population about the importance of cultural and natural heritage;
Securing visibility regarding tourism potential in the whole region;
Making subsidy policies on investing in rural areas;
Use of foreign experiences in protecting tourist attractions;
Re-adaptation of a part of the existing space in the Museum of the City of Skopje into a new museum space for exhibitions;
Construction of camping on certain locations;
Construction of golf courses on certain locations.
Priority 4.3
Creating a recognisable regional tourist offer
Outputs Indicators
Marketing strategy outlined Regional marketing strategy put into service Number of interactive maps Certificates issued to national restaurants Number of visits to fairs Functional accommodation and catering establishments adapted and restored Number of ethnic restaurants Amount of rural development funds used Number of accommodation and catering establishments adapted and restored Functional website of the region Number of trainings in selective forms of tourism Number of tourists increased Joint projects prepared by the administration structure and the Tourist stay continued tourist business sector Leisure consumption increased Cooperation established between the region and another region in the neighbourhood Tourist programmes (products) developed Number of tourist arrangements sold
The following key measures have been identified in order to meet this priority:
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Measure 4.3.1
Support to tourist operators for designing regional tourist offer which will include several types of tourism
The region as a separate destination which strives towards developing itself into a tourist brand needs to offer common programmes which will involve all municipalities from the region. Thus, tourism turnover would distribute more evenly and in this way the overall offer to tourists would be enriched. This measure would be implemented by:
Organisation of meetings between travel agencies and other service providers in the whole region Selection of the best proposed ideas of tourist programmes and promotion Drawing up tourist arrangements which include selective types of tourism Selection and prioritisation of cultural resources in the region for their inclusion in other types of alternative tourism (apart from cultural)
Indicative activities
Conclusion of cooperation agreements in provision of tourist services; Securing visibility regarding tourism potential in the whole region; Revitalisation of village areas; Selection of thematic tours (5 to 6) which would present the region best; Linking the organisational structure with the tourism business sector; Analysis of competitive regions and countries; Designing subsidy policies on investing in rural areas.
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Measure 4.3.2
Development of a gastronomy offer emphasizing Macedonian tradition
The Republic of Macedonia has an abundance of authentic, traditional gastronomy products which could be for the benefit of the tourist offer. In order to achieve this, it is necessary for local population to nurture these traditions, as well as to accept the benefits of their inclusion in tourism. This measure would be implemented by:
Educational programmes for local population about the importance of gastronomy offer Exchange of experiences in preparing traditional specialties Organisation of fairs and events for traditional food in the region
Indicative activities
Development of a gastronomy offer (opening ethnic restaurants with emphasised Macedonian tradition); Drawing up new menus and networking of ethnic restaurants in the region; Certification of national restaurants; Promotion of the region‟s gastronomy values; Cooking traditional food – manufacturing souvenirs in the region; Organisation of workshops on preparing traditional specialties; Linking gastronomy with the traditional production of food and food products.
Measure 4.3.3
Promotion of natural and cultural heritage
Skopje Planning Region has an abundance of rich cultural and natural heritage having significant values of tourism, but a large part of it is not sufficiently touristically used. Therefore, the promotional activities should be strengthened for those values that will ensure equal regional development, and at the same time will contribute towards extension of the stay of tourists. This measure will be implemented by:
Selection of values of tourism
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Selection of the best promotional resources and methods aimed at defined market segments
Indicative activities
Promotion of potentials and networking; Organisation of promotional days of tourism; Website of the region (updating).
3. Financing the implementation of the Development Programme
Skopje Planning Region is the most developed region in the Republic of Macedonia and as such it has been ranked first, in accordance with the Decision on classification of planning regions according to their level of development for the period 2013-2017, by which planning regions have been classified on the basis of the Decision on defined criteria and indicators for assessing the level of development of planning regions. According to the methodology for distribution of funds from the Regional Development Programme of the Republic of Macedonia implemented through the Ministry of Local Self-Government and the Bureau for Regional Development and performed according to the development index of regions, in the period 2013-2017, it amounts to 5,7% of the total funds for all regions for financing development projects in Vardar Region.
As regional development financing sources in the Republic of Macedonia, the Law on Balanced Regional Development also states the following sources:
Budget of the Republic of Macedonia,
Budgets of the units of local self-government,
Available EU funds,
Other international sources,
Donations and sponsorships from physical persons and legal entities and
Other funds regulated by law.
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A part of the funds of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia are used through the respective ministries. Pursuant to the Law on Balanced Regional Development, with a view to stimulating balanced regional development, funds should be allotted from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia in the amount of at least 1% of GDP annually.
The Law on Balanced Regional Development defines the following instruments for stimulating regional development: capital investments; irretrievable grants; financing and co-financing of preparation of analyses, studies, planning documents and action plans; financing of institional capacity building for regional development of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as state aid in the form of loans under favourable conditions, loan guarantees, credit insurance, tax reliefs, subsidies and other instruments, as pursuant to law.
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