Construction Minister Branko Bacic said on Tuesday that the government did not "pass the test" in building replacement family homes, and announced progress by the end of this year, when he expects works on about a hundred houses.

“As for the construction of replacement family homes, that is the worst part of the reconstruction after the Zagreb earthquake, the fact is that we did not pass the test on the replacement houses,” Bacic said during a press conference on the eve of the third anniversary of the earthquake in the capital.

Not a single replacement house has been built yet, and 247 requests for construction have been submitted. Among them, public procurement is underway for 21 houses, while 184 contracts have been signed for designing houses, he said.

Construction of 21 houses will begin in early May

By the end of this year, the minister is announcing significant progress in this segment of reconstruction.

“The plan for this year is to finish all the designs for the construction of replacement family homes. At the beginning of May, we will start building 21 houses, and by the end of the year we will have works on 100 houses”.

When asked if the government is responsible for the poor figures when it comes to replacement family homes, Bacic said that he “will not go back to the past, but together with his colleagues will do everything to make up for the backlog”.

1,951 requests submitted for structural renovation

Bacic also said that the most important goal by the mid-2023 is to pay €1.03 billion for reconstruction projects from the Solidarity Fund.

“It is less important whether a school, college, or the buildings of the government and parliament will tap those funds. What goes into the structural retrofitting will be done anyway, and it can be financed by some other model” , the minister said.

As for the structural retrofitting of damaged buildings, of the 1,951 submitted requests, the reconstruction of 23 buildings and houses has been completed. An average of €400,000 was paid for one structural renovation, Bacic said.

32 buildings are under renovation

Renovation is underway on 32 buildings, while public procurement of contractors is ongoing for nine multi-apartment buildings in the center of Zagreb.