- Published: 22.03.2023.
Bačić: Currently 126 public buildings in Zagreb under reconstruction
(Hina) - Currently, 126 public sector buildings are being reconstructed in Zagreb, while the total value of current works in the capital is €2.3 billion, Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Minister Branko Bačić said on Wednesday, on the third anniversary of the Zagreb earthquake.
"The total value of all works currently being carried out in Zagreb is €2.3 billion. At the moment, reconstruction is underway on 148 projects, that is 126 public sector buildings and 22 transport and municipal infrastructure projects," Bačić said during a cabinet meeting.Croatia was granted €683 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (ESF) for the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and a little less than 60% or €400 million has been absorbed, said Minister Bačić.
"On the other hand, we cannot be satisfied with the speed of the reconstruction of private property, such as apartment buildings and houses," he added. He said that the construction of 14 replacement houses in Zagreb and another 7 in Krapina-Zagorje County will start in May.
As a positive development, which was made possible by the amendments to the Law on Reconstruction, the minister underscored the increased number of self-reconstructions.
"Of the 250 projects of retrofitting that are ahead of us, 120 of them are in the process of self-reconstruction, which is exceptional progress," he said.
So far, 2,157 buildings have been reconstructed in Zagreb (both retrofitting and non-retrofitting), of which the greater number refers to non-retrofitting.
"Non-retrofitting doesn't just include repairing chimneys or staircases, the average value of which is €9,000, while for retrofitting that price is €400,000," said Bačić.
An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit the Croatian capital three years ago today, causing damage to a total of 25,000 buildings, with an estimated value of about €10 billion.
"It is up to us to do everything to ensure that citizens are safe, and during the reconstruction process we are working according to the rules of the construction profession," Bačić concluded.
(Hina)