New cycling paths to link Nova Gorica and Gorizia

The event upon the start of construction was attended by the mayors of Gorizia and Nova Gorica, Rodolfo Ziberna and Klemen Miklavič, along with the president of the European grouping of territorial cooperation - EGTC GO, Paolo Petiziol.

"This project is an important signal about the kind of city we want to be. We want to live in a conurbation where clean and green mobility is at the forefront," said Miklavič.

He added that this kind of cross-border cooperation has become regular practice in the conurbation of Nova Gorica and Gorizia. "We are becoming a single urban territory, so the area needs to be jointly managed, which also includes infrastructure."

The construction of cycling paths is included in the last two stages of the cross-border park of Isonzo-Soča project, financed through the initiative INTERREG V-A Italy - Slovenia 2014-2020.

The third and the fourth stage of the project will provide for a 14-kilometre network of cycling and walking routes, connecting the two cities and rural areas around them along the Slovenia-Italy border.

The project aims to link existing cycling routes and provide better access to the area along the Soča River across the municipalities of Gorizia, Nova Gorica and Šempeter-Vrtojba, while promoting sustainable mobility.

The project is worth EUR 5 million in total, with just under EUR 2 million allocated for its third and fourth stages. Around 85% of the funding will be provided by the European Fund, with the rest coming from Italy's region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.