The budget allocation for the ministry of culture and media for 2023 is 37% higher than in the previous year, with the largest increase set aside for the post-quake reconstruction projects, Minister Nina Obuljen-Korzinek said on Wednesday, announcing a set of new laws and investments.

“When I became Minister, I inherited an allocation which made up 0.56% of the state budget. Next year, we will reach 1.37%, which is 37% more compared to last year,” the minister told a press conference where she presented the ministry’s priorities for the following calendar year.

She underscored that the most significant increase is the funds available for the post-quake reconstruction.

“But there are also numerous funds that will be available to us from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as well as an increase in the original budget funds for program activities of more than 20% compared to last year,” noted Obuljen-Korzinek.

The ministry is implementing 295 reconstruction projects with EU funds and about 100 with national funds. So far, more than 900 millio kuna has been withdrawn from the Solidarity Fund, the minister said in a brief overview of activities in 2022.

“At the moment, we have completed more than 15 projects, most of them have started working, and the dynamics are good”, she underlined.

The most important projects are the new building of the Croatian History Museum, the Croatian Museum of Naive Art, the headquarters of the Croatian Conservation Institute, and several others, from the Mestrovic Atelier, to churches, to the Mimara Museum.