Being addressed as a priority are the Drava river in the north-east of the country and the Savinja, slightly further to the south.

Both projects, involving the strengthening of existing embankments and the building of new ones among other things, are in their first phase, costing EUR 38.3m and EUR 45.5m, respectively, in what are mostly EU funds.

The February estimate was that a total of EUR 600m would be needed for the basic river management measures around the country and only two more projects are presently planned.

They address two more flood-prone rivers, the Selška sora in the north-west and central Slovenia, and the Gradaščica on the outskirts of the Slovenian capital, which have also been problematic in the recent flooding.

The list of the 61 areas is based on criteria from a directive on floods, which include the level of danger for people, the economy, cultural heritage and the environment.

Boštjan Petelinc of the Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry explained that the four areas being addressed had been hit by severe floods several times in recent years.

However it will probably take several years of planning and the coordination of the interests of different stakeholders, from state to local level, before the projects are completed.

Hotly debated again in recent weeks for instance has been the Gradaščica case, which remains a huge problem for the capital after the neighbouring municipality of Dobrova-Polhov Gradec decided in a referendum in 2008 to prevent the construction of retention basins.

Besides the 130,000 people living in the flood-prone areas, the 47 square kilometres defined as the most problematic also accommodate 500 vital social buildings, such as hospitals, schools and kindergartens, 1,500 cultural heritage units and 600 kilometres of vital infrastructure.