The kick-off meeting of the cross-border project Inter Bike III – Interconnecting the bicycle paths of the hinterland to the Adriabike and Adrioncycletour cycle routes, co-financed by the European Union under the Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia Programme 2021-2027, took place in Ajdovščina on Thursday, 7 December 2023.
Project Manager Tanja Krapež from the Regional Development Agency ROD Ajdovščina pointed out at the meeting that the Inter Bike III project, which focuses on the development of cycling tourism in the cross-border area, is a follow-up project to the previous two projects of the same name, which ran from 2011 to 2020. In their framework, a 1,000-kilometre cross-border cycle route from Kranjska Gora to Ravenna, named Adriabike, was established. The partners involved built 25 km of new cycle paths along the route and reconstructed around 100 km of existing paths at a cost of almost €2 million. Bus and boat services for bicycle transport have been introduced on a trial basis. On the Italian side, some transport connections have become regular seasonal services. Inter Bike III will run in parallel with the cross-border strategic project Adrioncycletour, which focuses on the development of coastal cycling routes between the seven Adriatic and Ionian countries and cycling routes to hinterland areas.
Danica Šantelj Arrighetti from the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development pointed out at the event that the Inter Bike III project was selected among the projects submitted to last year’s call for so-called capitalisation projects, which bring together the results of completed cross-border projects and promote the transfer of good practices to new areas. Andreja Grom from the Italy-Slovenia Interreg Programme Managing Authority, highlighted the public visibility this project has gained over more than ten years of implementation. She added that 25 projects have been funded under the call for capitalisation projects, while 27 projects have been funded under this year’s call for proposals of the Small Projects Fund to support the municipalities of Nova Gorica and Gorizia in their preparations for the European Capital of Culture 2025. The cross-border programme’s call for proposals for standard projects, which closed in October, has received almost 100 applications. Miha Benčina from the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy informed the audience that a strategic document on cycling in Slovenia will be prepared next year. Janez Furlan from the Municipality of Ajdovščina expressed his satisfaction that the municipality, through the Development Agency, is again participating in the project and thus continuing the development of cycling in the Vipava Valley.
This was followed by a press conference, a presentation of the project, partners, regional projects in the field of mobility, cycling and cycle tourism, and a discussion on the possibilities to link initiatives and to cooperate with the ADRIONCYCLETOUR strategic project in the framework of horizontal activities. After the coffee break, the project partners were briefed on important information regarding the project management and activities, as well as on the guidelines for the communication activities of the project.
The total value of the project, which started in October and will end in September 2025, is almost €750,000, of which the European Union contribution is €600,000. The project’s lead partner is the Regional Development Agency ROD Ajdovščina, with the participation of the Regional Development Centre Koper, the Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica, the Local Action Groups from the Eastern Veneto (GAL Venezia Orientale) and the Torre and Natisone river valleys (GAL Torre Natisone) and the tourist company Caorle.IT.
