High school “Svilajnac” has been successfully reconstructed through European Union Assistance for Flood Relief in Serbia Programme. European Union has allocated some EUR120,000 for the reconstruction of two educational facilities – High School and Technical School – and their furnishing.
May 2014 floods caused the erosion of soil, which resulted in cracking of the very construction of the building as well as iternal and external walls. The reconstruction of the High School, built in 1877, was completed in late October 2015 and had included the reparation of the facade, ceiling and joinery, paint job, reconstruction of the main roof construction and full replacement of the roof. Electrical installations were put in place, piping was reconstructed, whereas patio and drive ways were paved.
“The building has been fully reconstructed, providing students and teachers with considerably improved conditions to study and work. Furthermore, the building is under State protection and extremely important to residents of Svilajnac because this was once the first high school in our region,” said Director of High School “Svilajnac” Brankica Stanojevic.
“Following the May 2014 floods in Svilajnac, we have managed to reconstruct five schools. Such a hard task could not be carried out without the help from our friends in the European Union,” said President of the Municipality of Svilajnac Predrag Milanovic.
The first phase of reconstruction works on “Svilajnac” High School was carried out last year, immediately after the flood. It included the replacement of joinery and floors and paint job on Technical School. The reconstruction of the boiler room within the phase one allowed for proper functioning of heating in the facility during the previous winter.
“European Union had recognised the importance of this High School, thus the money invested in reconstruction was entirely aimed at providing students and teachers with European working and learning conditions. For instance, triple pane windows were installed in order to secure better heat insulation and fully eliminate the noise from the high street so that students may listen to lectures uninterruptedly,” said Nastas Andric, Engineer at UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the Office in charge with the reconstruction project.
EU Assistance for Flood Relief in Serbia Programme, worth 30 million EUR, is financed by the European Union from IPA pre-accession funds. The money is allocated for the construction of new homes, reconstruction of state institutions, private houses, roads and revitalisation of economy and agriculture in 24 municipalities most affected by floods: Bajina Basta, Valjevo, Varvarin, Velika Plana, Jagodina, Kosjeric, Koceljeva, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Krupanj, Lazarevac, Loznica, Ljubovija, Mali Zvornik, Obrenovac, Osecina, Paracin, Svilajnac, Smederevska Palanka, Trstenik, Ub, Cacak, Sabac and Sid. All activities on the ground are carried out by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), organisations HELP and ASB, as well as Danish Refugee Council (DRC) – in coordination with Government’s Office for Assistance and Reconstruction of Flooded Areas. Media are allowed to publish photos included in this email.
