September the 13th, 2022 - Zagreb hospitals have been resembling construction sites more and more frequently of late as post-earthquake improvements finally begin - 2.5 years after the March 2020 earthquake we all remember shocked Zagreb in the morning.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, two and a half years after the Zagreb earthquake of 2020 struck the capital and its surroundings, after some minor "patching up" of cracked walls, the major renovation of Zagreb hospitals has finally begun, meaning that these buildings will be construction sites for the next few years, as reported by Vecernji list.

From this week onwards, the reorganisation of the way work is carried out begins in some Zagreb hospitals. This means that the gynecology patients of KB Merkur, who have been referred their until the end of September, have been redirected to KBC Sestre milosrdnice (Sisters of Charity), where doctors from the parent institution will also performs their duties, and from October on, all clinics will work there in two shifts. The maternity hospital is also moving from Merkur to KBC Sestre milosrdnice, and partly also to KB Sveti duh. From October the 1st, oncology patients from KB Merkur will also be treated at KNC Sestre milosrdnice.

In a few weeks, the reconstruction of the gynecology clinic in Petrova will also finally begin. The maternity hospital there will not be closed down, but will instead be moved inside the building during the next year and a half, which is as long as the works there are supposed to last.

At the lung clinic at KBC Zagreb in Jordanovac, which was rendered totally unusable by the earthquake of March 2020, the first actions have begun, meaning that proper construction work should start there in the near future.

At KBC Sestre milosrdnice, the renovation of six buildings will begin in a few weeks. Structural renovation is being financed by the EU Solidarity Fund with a withdrawal deadline of June 2023, and part of the complete renovation with energy efficiency is being funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO).

The renovation of six buildings was contracted for a total value of 438.7 million kuna, and construction work on the first five buildings should be completed by the end of 2023, and on the sixth by May 2024.

The post-earthquake works on Zagreb hospitals started one month ago at the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic Clinic for Infectious Diseases, and a lot of work is already being carried out at the Clinic for Children's Diseases in Zagreb, according to Vecernji list journalist Romana Kovacevic Barisic.

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November the 23rd, 2021 - It's no exaggeration to say that Croatia's post-earthquake ''cleanup'' in Zagreb and Central Croatia is moving at a snail's pace. That said, it is still moving, however slowly. Croatian earthquake damaged properties which cannot be rescued will start being removed as of 2022.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, as of the beginning of next year, the proper plans for the removal of Croatian earthquake-damaged buildings that have collapsed and can no longer be rebuilt or saved will be ready and organised. The State Inspectorate has announced a tender for the performance of these tasks in the areas of the City of Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje, Zagreb, Sisak-Moslavina and Karlovac counties.

These are contract award procedures based on a framework agreement, and the total estimated value of the works is 30 million kuna, increased by the amount of VAT (meaning the true total will be around 37.5 million kuna). The tender doesn't specify the exact number of Croatian earthquake-damaged buildings that need to be demolished and removed, nor the time limit in which the work would be realised. The quantities in cubic metres of gross space have been stated, and the amount of work itself, as stated in the documentation of the State Inspectorate, will additionally depend on the needs and available financial resources at the given time.

For these jobs, candidates whose bids will be considered should have a cumulative annual turnover in the last three years of at least 15 million kuna, and among other things, they must prove that they have completed the removal of buildings worth 10 million kuna over the last five years.

They also must have at least one construction engineer with five full years of experience who is registered as one of the Chamber's construction engineers, and four construction engineers and truck drivers and six workers, with all of the necessary technical equipment.

The bidders for the Croatian-earthquake building removal job must also guarantee their seriousness with a promissory note in the amount of 900,000 kuna. The State Inspectorate is going to be collecting bids until December the 6th, and although the demolition of these damaged facilities is eagerly awaited out in the field, a deadline of 90 days has been set for the decisions to be made on the selection of contractors.

The State Inspectorate, under which the construction inspection is responsible for problematic facilities that endanger public safety, is performing this task by the decision of the Civil Protection Directorate of the Republic of Croatia.

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October the 16th, 2021 - The situation with the Banovina post-earthquake reconstruction process isn't particularly positive. This likely comes as no real surprise to those of us living in Zagreb, where certain areas still look as if the earthquake of March 2020 happened far more recently than it did.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, it was said on Wednesday at a round table called ''the reconstruction and development of Banovina'' that things with the Banovina post-earthquake reconstrction process weren't going quickly enough, but that it all can be fixed.

The round table on the matter was organised by the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, and according to Velibor Mackic, the president's special adviser for the economy, it's necessary to separate reconstruction and development when it comes to this Central Croatian area which was struck by a devastating earthquake at the very end of last year.

"Representatives of the EBRD said that the funds for this are available, but that they're waiting for infrastructure projects," said Mackic, and warned that the development part of this process "remained in the lurch."

Those present agreed that all previous projects related to Banovina are applicable within the existing law. Asked if bottlenecks have been located in in the area, which is why the reconstruction process is taking so long, he answered that bottlenecks aren't something that should come as a surprise to anyone.

According to him, it is crucial to manage the development of the area during the Banovina post-earthquake reconstruction process, and has called for rapid public sector intervention.

"It's necessary for some things to be settled, and we believe that the state can help: from settling the situation in the process of reconstruction, and to speed it up. It's necessary to enter that space regardless of the disorder of ownership relations,'' said Mackic.

Along with the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, the round table was attended by representatives of the World Bank Office in Croatia, HAZU, EBRD, and HUP.

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