Contracts for 12 rural houses awarded to refugee families in Vrbas

In Vrbas, as part of the ninth sub-project of the Regional Housing Program, the construction of 14 apartments intended for refugee families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia is underway. The apartments with a total gross area of 1098 square meters are intended for rent and purchase.

The total value of the works is 547,230 euros.

The ceremonial visit in Vrbas was attended by State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nemanja Starović, President of the Municipality of Vrbas Predrag Rojević, Director of the Fund for Refugees, Displaced Persons and for Cooperation with Serbs in the Region Duško Ćutilo, UNHCR representative Violeta Samardžić, Deputy Head of the Cooperation Office at the Embassy of Switzerland in the Republic of Serbia Derek George, Head of the Cabinet of the Director of the Public Sector Projects Implementation Unit Jovan Lazarov and Commissioner for Refugees and Migration Vladimir Cucić.

Contracts have also been awarded for the purchase of 12 rural houses. This has also permanently solved the housing issue of a total of 26 refugee families from the territory of the municipality of Vrbas.

The Regional Housing Programme is a joint multi-year programme of the Republic of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia, which aims to provide durable housing solutions for the most vulnerable refugee families in the region.

The programme is supported by the OSCE, UNHCR and the Council of Europe Development Bank, and is funded by the EU, which is also the largest donor, the USA, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.