Ivo Boscarol, the Ajdovščina-based entrepreneur who sold his successful ultra-light aircraft maker earlier this year, has donated EUR 1.47 million to the Slovenian Firefighting Association, thus making good on the promise he made during a huge wildfire in the western region of Kras in July.

At the time, Boscarol promised to match the contribution pledged by the government as payment for thousands of voluntary firefighters that battled the flames in what was Slovenia's largest wildfire to date.

"The main motives for the donation were to thank [the firefighters] for their effort, to encourage them to endure the hellish conditions for the next few days, to motivate other volunteers to join them, and to let them know that all Slovenians appreciate what they are doing for the residents and nature of Kras," Boscarol wrote in a press release on Wednesday.

He also wanted to motivate others to contribute funds as a further encouragement for "those who through their effort preserved all human lives and all homes in Kras".

In late September, the government approved EUR 1.47 million for the voluntary fire brigades involved in the firefighting campaign in Kras. Every firefighter working on the site for up to eight hours a day was to get EUR 63 a day or EUR 94.50 if they were deployed for more than eight hours a day.

This formed the basis for a donation agreement that Boscarol signed with the Firefighting Association. He transferred the EUR 1.47 million donation on 24 October.

The transfer completes the distribution of a total of EUR 30 million in donations that the entrepreneur and his daughter Taja Boscarol made after selling the aircraft maker Pipistrel to US industrial conglomerate Textron for EUR 218 million earlier this year. They remain minority owners in the company.

The beneficiaries include Pipistrel employees and the local community. The latter is to benefit from a new community health centre and a multi-purpose disasters and accidents response centre with a helicopter to become operational in 2025.