Valjevo, 20 September 2006

The official ceremony for the opening of the building site for the construction of social housing units was held in Naselje Sreten Dudić in Valjevo, on Wednesday September 20th, in the presence of the H.E. Velimir Ilić Minister for Capital Investments, representatives of the Italian Government, Ms. Ligia Ramirez Head of UN-HABITAT in Serbia, and Mr. Zoran Ilic  Deputy Mayor, Ms. Zorica Peric director of the Municipal Housing Agency, established within the framework of SIRP Programme.
The sites, located in Novo Naselje and Naselje Sreten Dudić in Valjevo will be interested by the construction of the first 35 social housing units of a total of 76, for which the Italian Government is contributing with about 1,2 M Euro, with the contribution of the Municipality of Valjevo in land and infrastructures, projects and permits, equivalent to approximately 30% of total costs.
This is the fourth ground breaking ceremony held in last several months within the SIRP Settlement and Integration of Refugees Programme in Serbia. It is envisioned that another three building sites will be inaugurated in SIRP beneficiary municipalities by November 2006.

Construction of these apartments represents a step in the development of the social housing system, carried on at republic and municipal level with support of the SIRP Programme. The Ministry for Capital Investments promotes reforms in the housing sector and introduces the social housing system through the draft Social Housing Law.
The Valjevo Municipal Housing Agency is strongly engaged in other activities within the SIRP Programme. Main result achieved during last several months is development of the draft Housing Profile as a part of the ongoing process of formulation of the Municipal Housing Strategy.