A growing number of families keep returning back to their new homes, built back larger and safer to provide more comfortable living spaces than the dwellings they lost in the tragic earthquake on November 26, 2019. The new single-family homes in Manze, Durres Municipality, are a dream come true for many quake-affected citizens, who have often voiced scepticism, thinking that this day would never come.
Ferit Shehu’s family in the village of Rade, Manze, the beneficiary of a three-bedroom house, today welcomed the Prime Minister Edi Rama, who wished them lots of happiness in their newly-built home with abundant living spaces for the entire family.
“I wish you best of health and happiness in your new house,” the Premier extended his wishes to the family, adding: “The new home is worth the trouble and the patience. A lot of houses remain to be built, but they construction will complete gradually.’
Reconstruction Minister Ahmetaj noted that “20 new houses have been already built along this street only, whereas a total of 215 single-family properties need to be constructed for the quake-affected families in Manze, with work to build 60 of them already underway. Meanwhile, demolition of many quake-damaged houses is also underway. Ahmetaj added that “some 785 single-family homes are envisaged to be rebuilt in the entire Municipality of Durres, but their number could grow to 1000 once a new damage assessment process completes. Based on the contract, construction of 215 houses is scheduled to complete by end of April. In the meantime, around 30 families in this municipality have filed applications for cash compensation as their new homes cannot be built on the site of their old dwellings because of the terrain that is unstable for building. We are speeding up the process of disbursing the compensation grants for the buildings that have sustained DS4 and DS5 damage level.”
In the house’s backyard of the other family that has benefited a three-bedroom newly-built home, the makeshift tent is still there as a reminder of the hardship and tough days they have been through and which, as the family head says, are now all gone. “A total of only 860, out of 11.000 quake-affected families, are still sheltered in tents. In the meantime, all these families have been provided rental bonus under the government’s housing rental program,” Ahmetaj said, elaborating on the case of a citizen, whom a solution had been provided regarding his new house he is entitled to benefit under the post-earthquake reconstruction program. “We just solved a problem. It was the case concerning two families sharing a single home. We discussed the matter with the local government authorities and, according to the law, the two brothers will benefit a single-family home each,” Ahmetaj explained.
Ismail Shehu’s family is another beneficiary of a three-bedroom house under the Reconstruction Program, with each element of the project designed to provide a safe and strong infrastructure.
In a conversation with family members, Minister Ahmetaj stressed that the benefit of housing for free is an extraordinary help for citizens. “This is a unique program, providing for every quake-affected family to benefit a new house for free, which is practically an unprecedented as a left-wing social program. Imagine for a moment if the usual formula that is applied in developed countries, where you have to apply for a bank loan. You would never be able to build it.”
On his part, Prime Minister Rama announced that another program is being prepared to provide affordable housing loans for the homeless people. “A reconstruction program is implemented in the wake of the earthquakes in Turkey, yet the affected families have to apply for a bank loan, because no housing is provided for free there. We are doings so completely for free, because what would be the point if we were to tell people to apply for loans, no matter affordable they were to be. In the meantime, we are putting final touches to an affordable housing loans program to help homeless families, mostly young couples.”
