Reconstruction of 157 properties completed, 116 construction sites opened in October

(Hina) - Construction Minister Branko Bačić on Wednesday submitted at a government session a regular monthly report on post-earthquake reconstruction, noting that reconstruction work was completed in October on 157 family houses and apartment buildings while 116 construction sites were opened.

So far reconstruction work has been entirely completed at 12,546 locations, of which 11,864 are private buildings and houses (47,327 housing units) and 663 are projects financed under the European Solidarity Fund. As of today, 297 houses have been built (267 in Petrinja and 30 in Zagreb) while 272 are under construction, the minister said.

Currently reconstruction work is underway at 1,929 sites, of which 1,715 are private buildings and houses and 214 are public buildings, which are nearing completion. Procurement procedures are underway for another 837 locations with 2,620 housing units.

In October construction work was completed on 157 family houses and apartment buildings (8 were replacement homes, 26 were seismic retrofitting projects while 123 projects referred to non-seismic retrofitting work), 116 construction sites were opened (for 13 replacement homes, 9 apartment buildings, 31 seismic retrofitting projects and 63 non-seismic retrofitting projects).

In October the concept of "block reconstruction" was introduced, referring to reconstruction work on eight blocks with 1,129 housing units, "which significantly simplifies reconstruction", said Bačić, noting that decisions were made on the reconstruction of two blocks, one in Zagreb and the other one in Sisak. Procurement procedures are underway for another two blocks, one in Sisak and the other one in Zagreb.

Reconstruction work is underway on one block in Zagreb and one in Sisak, the minister said.

He noted that along with the reconstruction of private properties there has been a significant increase in the number of completed reconstruction projects for public buildings, financed mostly under the European Solidarity Fund, including a school, a kindergarten, a hospital department, a retirement home, and a museum.

Under the European Solidarity Fund, contracts were signed for 1,309 projects worth €3.67 billion (with the European Solidarity Fund contribution amounting to 1.003 billion and the contribution from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan being 1.37 billion, with the rest coming from other sources.)

As for public buildings whose reconstruction was not eligible for financing under the European Solidarity Fund, the government approved assistance for the removal of earthquake damage in the amount of €8.7 million.

So far a total of €3.1 billion has been spent on the reconstruction of public and private properties damaged in the 2020 earthquakes in Zagreb and Petrinja, of which 1.81 billion has been spent in Zagreb and 1.32 billion in Petrinja. A total of €1.2 billion has been secured in financial projections for 2025 for post-earthquake reconstruction, Bačić said.

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