The keys to 13 new apartments for refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia were presented in a ceremony held in the Municipality of Irig
16.06.2020. On the 16th of June 2020, the keys to 13 apartments intended for refugee families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the republic of Croatia were presented in a ceremony to the would be recipients residing on the territory of the municipality. The apartments have been constructed within the scope of ‘Sub-Project 5’ of the Regional Housing Program currently being implemented in the Republic of Serbia by the Commissariat for refugees and Migration as the lead institution.
The financial resources for the construction of the building in Svetozara Miletica No. 25 have been provided in part through donor funds made available within the context of the Regional Housing Program, while the land and connecting infrastructural requirements have been provided by the Municipality of Irig. The total value of the construction works amounts to some 343,792 EUR and the works themselves encompass a total surface area of 820 square meters.
The ceremony was attended by the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Coordination Commission for the Integration of Refugees Mr. Ivica Dacic, and the Commissioner of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Vladimir Cucic.
Also in attendance were Mr. Miodrag Bebic, Vice President of the Municipality of Irig, Dr. Ivan Bosnjak, National Secretary of the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, Mrs. Jadranka Maric, President of the OSCE, Mr. Matias Sikorski, representative of the Embassy of Germany, Mr. Dusko Cutilo, the Director of the Fund for Supporting Refugees, Exiled and Displaced Persons in AP Vojvodina, Mr. Dusan Kovacevic, Director of the Public Sector’s Project Implementation Unit and the representatives of international and other organizations and institutions.
The Regional Housing Program is a join, multiannual program being implemented by the Republics of Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina which aims to provide durable housing solutions to the most vulnerable refugee families living within the region. The program is being implemented with the support of the OSCE and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, and is being financed primarily through donor funds. The largest single donor being the European Union, followed by the United States of America, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Luxemburg, Spain, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
The joy of the ceremony itself was further complimented through the donations made available by the ‘Vitorog”, a furniture manufacturing company based in Novi Sad which ensured that the apartments in question were equipped with new cupboards and other furnishings.