The ceremonious opening of the renovated building of the “Andrija Štampar” School of Public Health, which was damaged in the 2020 Zagreb earthquake, and whose reconstruction was financed through the EU Solidarity Fund and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), took place.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs, Minister of Health Vili Beroš, the Director of the Central Financing and Contracting Agency for EU Programs and Projects (CFCA) Dragan Jelić, the Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Zagreb Slavko Orešković, the Director of the “Andrija Štampar” School of Public Health Mirjana Kujundžić Tiljak, and other dignitaries.
Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that the Government has secured 3.5 billion euros for the reconstruction of Zagreb and the Banovina region.
“We have chosen, perhaps, a slower but the right path by opting for a comprehensive reconstruction and renewal of earthquake-damaged areas, based on the opinions of experts performed to the highest standards. Given that 650 million euros are planned to be spent on earthquake-proof reconstruction and renovation of healthcare institutions and one billion euros for scientific institutions, this can be considered a renaissance of Croatian healthcare and higher education,” said the Prime Minister.
The Director of the “Andrija Štampar” School of Public Health, Kujundžić Tiljak, stated that the School is an institution of special status not only in Croatia but also carries the name of a person whose work has strongly influenced the health of people worldwide.
“The School did not stop working during the COVID-19 pandemic or after the 2020 earthquakes in Zagreb and Petrinja; it continued its work at other locations, maintaining its full scope. After the complete renovation, the School will be more stable, stronger, and safer for its students, while the School’s collaborators will continue their dedicated work following Štampar’s vision and ideas,” concluded the Director of the “Andrija Štampar” School of Public Health.
In his welcome speech, the Dean of the School of Medicine, Orešković, emphasized that the building of the “Andrija Štampar” School of Public Health is the first and largest building damaged in the earthquake to be completely renovated so far.
“We are nearing the completion of projects for the comprehensive renovation of three more earthquake-damaged buildings of the School of Medicine at the University of Zagreb in Šalata, all of which will enable the entire teaching to be held in the newly renovated premises of the School of Medicine in the next academic year,” said Dean Orešković.
So far, the Central Financing and Contracting Agency for EU Programs and Projects has monitored the implementation of a total of nine projects of the School of Medicine at the University of Zagreb financed from EU funds, worth over 99 million euros, of which 98.8 million euros are non-refundable funds.
Photo: HINA
