Mayors in Posavje, one of the smallest Slovenian statistical regions which has a population of around 71,000 people, expect the government to provide answers regarding the completion of a chain of hydro power plants in the lower stream of the Sava river.

Three more plants are planned, with the the Krsko hydro plant being only partly completed and the Brežice and Mokrice plants still stuck in the planning phase.

With unemployment in the region rising - it stood at 13.4% or 1.7 percentage points above the country's average in July - and active population figures on the decline, Brežice Mayor Ivan Molan has urged the government to implement envisaged development plans in the region.

Some of the talks with officials and company representatives in Posavje will be held on Wednesday as well, when the minister will however also visit Zasavje, the smallest Slovenian region, which has been undergoing a transition from a traditional industrial and mining region into a post-industrial service-based economy.

The gradual closing down of the Trbovlje-Hrastnik coal mine has been one the central projects in Zasavje, whose 45,000 inhabitants live in one of the most polluted environments in the country.

The registered unemployment rate in Zasavje is slightly below 12%, while the region has an above-average share of unemployment among women, people younger than 25% and poorly educated people. Almost a third of all the unemployed are older than 50.