EU approves €100 million for the post-earthquake reconstruction in Albania
The European Commission has adopted a €100 million package to support the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts of Albania following the November 2019 earthquake. This funding is part of the total European Commission pledge of €115 million made at the International Donors’ Conference Together for Albania, earlier this year.
Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, said: “With the adoption of this €100 million financial package, the European Union is living up to its commitment to help Albania in the reconstruction efforts following the earthquake, just as we are also supporting the country to address the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. We have delivered on our promise to stand by the citizens of Albania and renewed our support to Albania and its European future.”
The newly adopted programme will focus on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of education facilities, including furniture and equipment, to allow children and the youth to return to school with better conditions and facilities. It will build on the works already initiated under the existing €15 million reconstruction programme financed by the European Commission. The new programme will further finance the rehabilitation of damaged cultural heritage sites, including monuments, museums, libraries and archaeological sites, contributing in this way also to local economic development.
All construction will follow the “Build Back Better” principle, applying sustainable building norms and reduce the future risk, rebuilding stronger, safer and more disaster-resilient infrastructure and systems. The special measure will also bring improvements to energy efficiency.
Background
During the 17 February 2020 Together for Albania – International Donors’ Conference, the European Commission pledged €115 million of support consisting of two components:
- An initial amount of €15 million, announced already in December 2019, focusing on rehabilitation and reconstruction of education facilities. To allow the urgent launch of the construction operations, it is being implemented through an agreement signed with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It foresees the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 22 schools.
- An additional €100 million which is allocated through the newly adopted programme.
The choice of the sector is based on the Post Disaster Needs Assessment and informed by other pledges, with a view of allocating the work between different donors.
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