Keys to 48 apartments handed over to refugee families in Pančevo

In the Strelište settlement in Pančevo, the keys to 40 apartments were handed over, while in the Glogonj settlement, another 8 families were given a new home. The apartments were built within the Regional Housing Program and intended for refugee families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

The award ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Pančevo, Aleksandar Stevanović, UNHCR representative Violeta Samardzić, Head of the Office of the Director of the Public Sector Projects Implementation Unit Ltd. Belgrade, Jovan Lazarov, and the Commissioner for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia, Vladimir Cucić.

"You no longer need to go from house to house and pay rent, after six months of rent here, you will have the opportunity to buy your apartments at 50 percent of the market price in Pancevo and finally start living normally," said Jovan Lazarov, Head of the Office of the Director of the Public Sector Projects Implementation Unit Ltd. Belgrade.

Funds for the construction of apartments were provided from the donor Fund of the Regional Housing Program, while the land and infrastructure were provided by the City of Pančevo. The total value of the construction of 40 apartments is 1,411,666 euros, while the construction of apartments in Glogonj is 226,876 euros.

A further 36 apartments are under construction in Pančevo and construction will be completed in the summer.

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.

It is supported by the OSCE, UNHCR and the Council of Europe Development Bank, and is funded by the European Union, which is also the largest donor, the United States, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.