Another EUR 9mn to repair flood-damaged homes

Another EUR 9mn to repair flood-damaged homes

BELGRADE -- Marko Blagojevic says the government has so far allocated RSD 4.2 billion for the reconstruction of houses damaged in the May floods.

It also "secured another EUR 9 million for the coming year," explained the director of the Serbian Government Office for Reconstruction and Flood Relief.

The funds to repair damaged homes in 2015 are secured through the European Union programs for the reconstruction of housing objects severely damaged in the floods, Blagojevic told the New Year's edition of Belgrade daily Informer.

Financial aid will be available in late January and early February, and it will also be transferred to the areas hit by September floods, such as the eastern Serbian municipality of Kladovo, on the banks of the Danube, he said.

Blagojevic specified that 17,700 families received funds totaling RSD 4.22 billion for the reconstruction of damaged homes, and accommodation has been provided for 292 out of the 337 families whose homes were completely destroyed by the floods.

"This means that they either received money to buy a new house or a new house was built for them," he explained, adding that the remaining 45 houses under construction are to be completed in January. Most of the new homes are equipped with furniture and home appliances, he added.

The majority of damaged roads have been reopened for traffic, but much is yet to be done to remedy the landslides and repair the damaged banks and infrastructure, said Blagojevic.

As far as the energy sector is concerned, the work is going well and we expect the coal production in Kolubara to be fully restored in the spring, said the director of the Office for...