Keys handed over to 209 temporary housing beneficiaries in Sisak and Petrinja

(Hina) - Temporary housing beneficiaries on Monday received keys to 209 new flats in 11 apartment blocks in Sisak and Petrinja as part of the post-earthquake housing programme, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković saying more than €30 million from the state budget had been allocated for their construction.

The flats were allocated to people whose homes have not yet been rebuilt. They will not pay rent, while the state will co-finance utility costs.

Once reconstruction is complete, the flats will become part of an affordable housing scheme for young families and people working in shortage occupations.

Plenković said 57 new apartment buildings had so far been constructed in Sisak-Moslavina County, with two more nearing completion. He added that €5 billion had been spent on post-earthquake reconstruction, including €3 billion in Zagreb and the remainder in the Banovina region and other affected areas, and that all family homes would be rebuilt by the end of next year.

Construction Minister Branko Bačić said Petrinja was at the centre of reconstruction efforts as it was near the epicentre of the devastating earthquake. He said more than 15,000 sites and around 900 public buildings had been rebuilt following the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquakes.

He added that 59 new apartment buildings in Sisak-Moslavina County would provide a total of 1,024 flats, which would later be included in the affordable housing scheme for young families.

Bačić said the construction of new flats in earthquake-hit areas had served as a model for the National Housing Policy Plan, under which affordable housing would be built across Croatia.

The new buildings will significantly increase the housing stock in Sisak and Petrinja. Once all planned projects are completed, Sisak will have around 500 new flats and Petrinja around 200.

Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivan Celjak said the new housing, together with improved facilities, would make Sisak and Petrinja increasingly attractive places for young people to live, while the mayors of the two cities said the projects would contribute to demographic renewal and the social and economic revitalisation of the earthquake-affected area.

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