The acting director of the fund for post-quake reconstruction, Damir Vandjelic, said on Tuesday, that so far, only about 40 requests had been received for the renovation of buildings and structures damaged in the 22 March earthquake.

Seven weeks ago, the government, the City of Zagreb and the two neighboruing counties — Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje — signed an agreement on post-quake renovation, and Vandjelic told a news conference today that the fund had been formally established.

This will enable the fund to hire employees to deal with feasibility studies and projects.

He added that the start of reconstruction works could be expected before next summer.

There are some owners who have started reconstructing their properties of their own initiative. Some 200 buildings are already undergoing reconstruction in this way, which is permitted under the law, and their costs will be refunded, he added.

He called on residents to submit applications for reconstruction to the Physical Planning and Construction Ministry which can then decide on the matter, and the fund can then act accordingly.

Vandjelic admitted that the procedure was complicated. “There are nine kinds of applications.”

The applications will be processed according to the time they are received. In the event that there is a large number of applications at the same time, priority will be given to buildings with higher-degree damage.

The 22 March earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale, killed a teenage girl in downtown Zagreb and caused serious material damage, estimated at HRK 42 billion, in the city and nearby counties. Currently, 12 billion kuna has been made available for the reconstruction as an initial fund coming from the EU Solidarity Fund, plus a US$ 200 million loan provided by the World Bank.