Today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bačić, accompanied by State Secretaries Dunja Magaš, Tonči Glavinić and associates, toured the reconstruction sites of two comprehensive reconstruction projects of public use buildings – at Ilica 25 and Nazorova 53 in Zagreb.
The public use building at Ilica 25-Gundulićeva 2 is owned by the Republic of Croatia, and it was built in early 20th century as the Central State Savings Bank. Later it accommodated offices of state authorities and city administrative departments.
“The building is an individual cultural property, and it requires very complex reconstruction. I believe the building will be completed within the defined timeframe, by the end of April next year, and the comprehensive reconstruction should be completed by the end of June, which is the deadline for completing buildings whose comprehensive reconstruction is financed from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. We are pleased with the current pace of the works,” Minister Bačić said.
The building encompasses a gross surface area of 7,959.80 square metres, and it entails a basement, the ground floor and four floors. The contractor is ING-GRAD d.d., and the kick-off meeting was on November 28, 2023, while the contracted completion deadline is April 25, 2026. By now, 62% of the contracted structural reconstruction work has been carried out, together with 61% of the energy renovation work and 52% of the comprehensive reconstruction work. The investment is worth 42.9 million euro.
“We are carrying out the final works, we are following the planned timeframe, and I believe we will finish on time, even though there is still a lot of work to be done. The most difficult part was to remake all the old elements which weren’t there anymore, since the building has changed throughout history. Certain elements had to be reconstructed only based on photographs, so it was necessary to work closely with the designer, conservation supervisors and us contractors in order to execute everything as best and as close to the original as possible,” construction site manager Vlatko Granić said.
The reconstruction project worth 42.9 million euro is financed through the European Union Solidarity Fund, Recovery and Resilience Mechanisms and the state budget. The project involves design office CORE d.o.o. from Dubrovnik, contractor ING-GRAD d.d. from Zagreb, expert supervisor INTERKONZALTING d.o.o. from Zagreb, and occupational safety coordinator METROALFA d.o.o. from Zagreb.
One of the solutions for permanent accommodation of Croatia’s central public health institution
Accompanied by Minister of Health Irena Hrstić and Director of Croatian Institute of Public Health Krunoslav Capak, Minister Bačić then visited the comprehensive reconstruction site of the Croatian Institute of Public Health at Nazorova 53 in Zagreb.
“This building will house the Occupational Medicine Service, which deals with the protection of workers’ health in the workplace, and the Antidoping Service, which deals with education, promotion and control of doping in sports. The Institute is currently located across nine locations in the city of Zagreb, from Cimermanova to Borongaj - this is one of the solutions for permanent accommodation of the central public health institution in Croatia,” Director Krunoslav Capak said.
The reconstruction project of the Institute’s building is carried out in cooperation between the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, the Ministry of Health and the Croatian Institute of Public Health, and it is financed by funds from the World Bank loan. The building, which is protected cultural property, covers 3,270 square metres, entails a subterranean space, the ground floor and three floors, and is located in the historical urban area of the city of Zagreb.
“In addition to finding a permanent solution to accommodate the Occupational Medicine Service, the Government’s policy continuously focuses on improving the working conditions of healthcare workers and the healthcare system, which is precisely the domain of occupational medicine. The Ministry of Health will allocate 880,000 euro for the purchase of medical and non-medical equipment, and I believe this reflects that interdepartmental cooperation can be used to accomplish goals - in this case, placing occupational medicine and antidoping control under the same roof,” Minister Hrstić pointed out.
The works started in December 2024, and the project is planned to be completed by July 2026. The total contracted value of the project is 9.9 million euro. The project involves design office ING4Studio d.o.o. from Zagreb, contractor Tehnika d.d. from Zagreb, expert supervisor Investinženjering d.o.o. from Zagreb and project manager Ernst & Young d.o.o. from Zagreb.
Programme of the Government of the Republic of Croatia financed from the World Bank loan
The reconstruction of the Croatian Institute of Public Health building is financed from the World Bank loan and is one of the six projects financed from that source.
Let us recall, in July 2020, the Republic of Croatia concluded a Loan Agreement with the World Bank for USD 200,000,000 for post-earthquake reconstruction and public health preparedness, whereby USD 185,000,000 is intended for post-earthquake reconstruction, USD 10,000,000 for supervision and public health preparedness, and USD 5,000,000 for project management. Under the loan, six projects are being implemented, with two of them already completed - Reconstruction and renovation of Paediatric Oncology and Haematology at KBC Zagreb and the new Vocational Secondary School Petrinja.
Moreover, a contract for the construction of a new student dormitory in Petrinja was signed, procurement was completed and a contract concluded for project documentation development for the A building of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, while the largest project is the third stage of the reconstruction and construction of KBC Zagreb. Let us recall, Minister Bačić and Minister Hrstić toured the works on the largest Croatian hospital KBC Zagreb in mid-October.
“As much as the earthquake was a catastrophe and a calamity, it also enabled reconstruction of a building which wouldn’t have been reconstructed otherwise. Through the reconstruction process and other investments in Zagreb and the area affected by the earthquake, in a relatively short period of time, investments have been recorded like never before. Only on the reconstruction of healthcare infrastructure in the area affected by the earthquake, 800 million euro has been spent,” Minister Bačić stated.
It is worth noting that the healthcare field includes 70 projects worth 491.8 million euro from the EUSF, and during this term the Government plans to invest 2.5 billion euro into healthcare. By the end of next year, all hospitals in Zagreb should be renovated.
Replacement houses soon to be constructed
In the area affected by the Zagreb earthquake, 3,722 reconstruction projects of private buildings and houses have been completed, together with 440 EUSF projects. A total of 45 houses has been constructed, 53 family houses are under construction, and 19 houses are being designed.
“Two years ago, I announced that 2027 will mark the completion of constructing all replacement family houses in the Zagreb earthquake area. I believe this will be achieved if we continue at this pace,” Minister Bačić concluded.
In the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquake areas, 14,081 reconstruction projects have been completed - 13,294 referring to private buildings and houses and 787 to public use buildings and infrastructure. A total of 4.12 billion euro has been spent on post-earthquake reconstruction, whereby 2.39 billion euro refers to Zagreb earthquake and 1.73 billion euro to Petrinja earthquake.
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