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Cycling across a pond, Bochard (Genk)

Limburg, Belgium

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Cycling across a pond, Bochard (Genk)
© Ronny | Adobe Stock

For a long time, the Limburg economy was chiefly reliant on agriculture and mining and was accordingly left reeling by the closure of the coalmines in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Thanks to injections of (EU) funding, however, it was able to achieve enough of a social and economic turnaround to count as a success story. Between 1987 and 2017, EU investment of over EUR 600 million was channelled into various projects in Limburg, including research and innovation, logistics, tourism, urban development and village revitalisation, as well as training and upskilling projects for jobseekers.

Examples of projects and initiatives supported by the EU

COME-RES focuses on advancing renewable energy communities

EnergyVille has frequently used European funding, for example for the development of renewable energy communities, for which the province of Limburg is a target location.

Expansion BioVille — third wing

If Limburg today is a highly innovative region, that is largely due to the development of the University of Hasselt (UHasselt) and its science park in Diepenbeek. Among other things, the EU funded the construction of a new wing in this park, on the BioVille site, which is the hotspot in Limburg for organisations, start-ups and companies in the health and care sector.

Development of former mining sites

The EU has been actively promoting the redevelopment of former mining sites such as Eisden, where the Maasmechelen Village shopping centre is now located, and Beringen, which is now the site of the be-MINE tourism and recreation centre, along with shops, offices and residences, not to mention Houthalen (Greenville), Waterschei (Thor Park) and Winterslag (C-Mine), which are now major innovation centres.

T2-campus: Talent hub engineering and technology

Research and innovation figure prominently in Limburg, as evidenced by Thor Park, which houses the T2 Campus, an EU-funded talent hub for engineering and technology.

Development of crystalline solar cells for incorporation into bicycle paths

In the Maas-Rhine Euroregion, the Province of Limburg has provided support for the cross-border Rolling Solar programme and the subsequent Solar EMR implementation project for the rollout of thin-film solar sheets on paving surfaces.

New ecoduct allows animals to move more safely between Hoge Kempen National Park nature reserves

Limburg is also rich in wildlife, with no fewer than 17 EU-regulated conservation areas. In addition, EU funding is being channelled into projects such as the Dilsen-Stokkem ecoduct and a new cycle bridge, providing cyclists, pedestrians and animals with safe passage between the Hoge Kempen nature conservation areas.

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