Starovic attends the handing over of apartment keys to the refugees in Arilje

The apartments for refugee families were built within the Regional Housing Programme.

Addressing the families who received the apartments, Starovic said that this was a great day, especially for those who finally get their roof over their heads after 20 or more years, but that it was also an important day for the Republic of Serbia.

"Today, we are one important step closer to achieving our strategic goal, and that is that none of the refugees and displaced persons on the territory of Serbia will be without a settled housing issue", Starovic said.

According to State Secretary Starovic, the Serbian Government was working intensively on improving the socio-economic position of all our citizens, which was reflected in the growth of average salaries, increase in salaries in the public sector and pensions, as well as one-time benefits which by now became virtually regular.

Funding for the construction of apartments was provided from the Donor Fund of the Regional Housing Programme, whose largest donor is the European Union, while the land and infrastructure were provided by the Municipality of Arilje. The total value of the works amounts to 200,732 euros. The works started on 13 May 2020, and were completed on 2 April 2021, while the certificate of occupancy was issued on 27 December 2021.

The ceremony of handover of apartment keys was attended by Commissioner for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia Vladimir Cucic, Mayor of Arilje Predrag Maslar, Jovan Lazarov from the Public Sector Project Management Unit d.o.o. Belgrade, as well as representatives of international organizations and institutions.

The Regional Housing Programme is a joint initiative of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro, and the goal of the Programme is to make a comprehensive contribution to solving the problems of refugees and displaced persons by providing durable and sustainable housing solutions.