The Ministry has selected a contractor; the works, valued at €810,137.95, are expected to be completed within 180 days, with the majority of buildings being renovated in the Benkovac area.
A full 31 years after the end of the Homeland War, the reconstruction of war-damaged and destroyed homes in Croatia is still not entirely complete. The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets recently conducted a public tender for the renovation of 13 houses with damage levels I to IV across four Dalmatian counties, with the largest share-eight of them-located in Zadar County.
The renovation will cover two buildings in the city of Zadar, one each in the settlements of Sinjoretovo and Brodarica. The most work will be in the administrative area of the City of Benkovac, where four buildings are being renovated: in Islam Grčki, Donji Biljani, Donji Karin, and Lepuri. The remaining two locations are Biograd and the settlement of Komazeci, which belongs to the town of Obrovac.
The tender was divided into four groups by county, and in each group, the most economically advantageous bid was submitted by the company Diz-eko from Zagreb. For the eight buildings in the Zadar area, they will carry out the works for €810,137.95, with a completion deadline of 180 days.
The deadline for submitting requests for the reconstruction of war-damaged residential units expired on September 30, 2004, meaning that even these applicants submitted their requests more than two decades ago. After that, the procedure became complicated for various reasons, further slowing down the reconstruction process.
Given that most applicants are members of the Serbian community, Boris Milošević, president of the Serb National Council, provided a statement to Zadarski list. He pointed out that "in their previous reports and experiences in monitoring the dynamics of war reconstruction, similar patterns repeat."
"There are earlier backlogs and slower processing of cases, disputes over ownership, inheritance, and documentation are present, as many owners have since died or live abroad, so requests 'lie dormant.' There are also difficulties in finding contractors for smaller or more remote locations, resulting in low interest from bidders for lower-value jobs. There have also been cases of earlier withdrawal of requests or incomplete documentation, which halted the procedure," Milošević said for Zadarski list.
He added that across the entire Republic of Croatia, about fifty cases remain in various stages of resolution, involving not only construction reconstruction but also the payment of financial support.
Project details also reveal specific cases. For the house in Donji Karin, a decision from the State Administration Office in Zadar County from January 2012 was attached, which annulled an earlier decision from 2004. In the first attempt, reconstruction was denied due to incomplete documentation, but the new decision established that the owner has the right to reconstruction. She reported that she would live in the house with four other family members.
The study showed that the existing building and auxiliary structures were significantly damaged, made of inadequate materials, and had an extremely unfavorable floor plan. The roof structure was destroyed, and wall, ceiling, and floor coverings, as well as carpentry and installations, were damaged by prolonged exposure to weather conditions. Due to all this, it was assessed that the existing buildings needed to be removed and a completely new house built, with a total area of 85 square meters spread over two floors, for six family members.
