Government Action Plan for Reconstruction

Republic of Macedonia
GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Coordination Body for Crisis Management
S K O P J E

ACTION PLAN
for the repair and reconstruction
of damaged buildings and roads
in the crisis areas

The Action Plan for commitment of funds from donors intended for making good of the damages causes as a result of the demolition of the houses and roads by the war actions in the Republic of Macedonia has been prepared by the expert team of the Coordinating Body within the Government of the Republic of Macedonia dealing with crises.

The purpose of this document is to present the financial needs for making good of the damages in the areas of the Republic of Macedonia stricken by the war actions. In addition to the presentation of the number of houses and roads, classified in categories for the purpose of making good the damages, the document presents the assumed amounts of the needed funding resources as to meet the presented priorities, the implementation procedures for the announced financial aid and the recipients, as well as the deadlines for their realization.

This document should serve the donors in the decision making process with regard to the implementation of the announced financial aid both from the aspect of determination of the contractors for performing certain activities foreseen by the Action Plan and the aspect deadlines for their realization. The Framework Agreement has initiated the Action Plan.


1. Coordination of the financial aid realization

The coordination of the realization of the financial aid by the donors shall be carried out through the Coordinating Body for dealing with crises. Executive body of the Coordinating Body for dealing with crises, in this sector, will be a Committee for Repair and Reconstruction (CRIM),and in compliance with the Strategy for the sector which identifies the CRIM competencies. Members of the CRIM will be representatives from donors, EU/UN Agencies and the governmental administration. According to need, the Committee will include representatives from the non-governmental organizations and the local administration.


2. Assessment of the damaged buildings

The Coordinating Body for dealing with crises has established an expert team which was supposed to engage the Ministries and in cooperation with the International Management Group (IMG), UNHCR and other agencies and non-governmental organizations, to do assessment and to define the compensation costs for the direct damages caused as a result of direct war actions in the crisis areas and particularly of the damages of the destroyed, caught with fire and damaged houses, as well as the damaged road infrastructure and as an additional obligation, the damaged first-aid stations, schools and religious buildings.

The assessments have been made according to a program, established jointly with the International Management Group (IMG), but from safety reasons, it was slow, particularly in the damaged and inhabited places with most heavy damages. The assessments were made by teams composed of representatives of IMG (in the case of Aracinovo, UNHCR), the Ministry of Transport and Communications and representatives from the local authorities. The damage assessment has been made as the donor's community could get a survey of damage cost assessment and the municipalities. The basic action of the building damage assessment teams was performed on the basis of the categorization of the building made according the level of the damage.

2.a. Apartment buildings - houses

The damages are classified in 4 (four) categories. The fourth category includes both the destroyed houses and those, which are not completely destroyed, but their damages are so heavy that repair is not worthwhile.

This document shows, in Table 1, the real assessed number of houses, 3.859 and in Table 2, the assumed number of houses, 1.549, in the inhabited places. The percentage of the damages for the assessed and the assumed number of houses for each category is the following:

• Category 1 5 - 20% damage on 2.538 houses
  
• Category 2 20 - 40% damage on 1.455 houses
  
• Category 3 40 - 60% damage on 802 houses
  
• Category 4 60 - 100% damage on 613 houses
  

The cost price of the repair and reconstruction has been basically taken from the IMG estimates, that is, for a ground new construction it is EURO 200/m2. The same cost price in the estimates for the assessed building is multiplied by the ground floor area, then by the stories and by the percentage of the damage, using special purpose forms by which an appropriate value expressed in EURO is calculated, and it should be used to return the house in its original condition.

In case of not assessed inhabited places the number of damaged houses has been taken from various sources (UNHCR, IRC, local authorities), and those which in some way are relevant have been used, but with no ambition that they are a hundred percents correct, even a mistake of higher level is possible. In case of this assumed number of buildings and categorizaton, for the purpose of estimating the value of repairs and reconstructions, the average values of the value of the assessed buildings devided with the number of the assessed buildings have been used.

Clearance of the waste made as a result of the war activities has been taken for the categories 2 - 4, and that is 120 m3 for each building with multiplication for category 2 - 10%, category 3 - 50% and category 4 - 100%, and multiplied by the market price for loading, transport to 5 km and unloading.

2.b. Public buildings - Schools, First-aid stations and Religious buildings

All damaged are classified in 4 (four) categories. The fourth category includes both destroyed buildings and those, which are not completely destroyed, but their damage is of so high level that any repair is not worthwhile. The description of the damages of each category is the following:

• Category 1 5 - 20% damage on 17 schools, 8 first-aid stations and 16 religious buildings
  
• Category 2 20 - 40% damage on 10 schools, 9 first-aid stations and 9 religious buildings
  
• Category 3 40 - 60% damage on 9 schools, 8 first-aid stations and 8 religious buildings
  
• Category 4 60 - 100% damage on 8 schools, 3 first-aid stations and 4 religious buildings
  

Some of the buildings are assessed, but for most of these buildings there are quick assessments from various sources (UNHCR, IRC, local authority), but basically they haven't been precisely assessed so that mistakes are possible. For the purpose of estimating the value of the repairs and reconstruction, in the case of this assumed number of buildings and assumed categorization, given in Table 3, cost prices are used, as the detailed damage assessments are underway and even approximate value is not possible to be determined, they have been taken from the IMG estimations for Kosovo, and given in the Table.

(c) Roads

Damages on the roads, given in Table 4, have been assessed and determined by the availability of access in certain area and in the determination the values of the direct damages, that is, the war damages and the current maintenance which amount to EURO 3.064.610,00, market prices have been used.

The Table showing the road damages also include investment project which could have influence on the measures for building trust in the crisis area, on the road infrastructure network and on the economy in the Republic of Macedonia, in total value of EURO 28.215.430,00 and with the most important priority is the completion of the financing schedule on Skopje by-pass road.

3. Repairs and reconstruction of the damaged houses and roads

3.a. Needed financial aid

The expert team proposes to the Coordinating Body to carry out the repairs and reconstructions of the damaged houses and roads in the crisis areas where from safety aspect it is possible to carry out certain construction activities. It also proposes to the donors to allocate for this purpose financial air amounting to EURO 63.836.870,00, and intended for:

3.b. Main Contractors of the activities

The main contractors of the activities for realization of the financial aid intended for repairs and reconstruction of the damaged houses in the inhabited places of the crisis areas where, from safety aspects, it is possible to carry out certain construction activities, will be the Agency for implementation determined by the donors or the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Finances.

3.c. Procedure and dead lines for implementation of the financial aid

There is a wide range of options for implementation of the programs for reconstruction, but the most frequently used will be two different strategies, which could be used for delivery of the aid, and they are, agreed reconstruction and supported reconstruction.

These two different strategies define a wide range of possible interventions, but few critical criteria are presenting themselves to be relevant to all options. These criteria cover the necessary level of involvement of the Agency for implementation, the necessary level of participation of the beneficiaries, logistic needs, joint costs, access to the areas and time framework.

The Agency for implementation determined by the donor and the owner of the damaged house shall sign two-party agreement, which will regulate the way and the procedure for caring out the construction works and payment of the made damage for the category 1 and 2.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Agency for implementation determined by the donor and the owner of the damaged house shall sign three-party agreement, which will regulate the way and the procedure for caring out the construction works and payment of the made damage for the category 3 and 4.

The time of completion of the construction works on repair and reconstruction and the use of the funds from the financial aid is within the following period of time: October 2001 - June 2002.


4. Action Plan Priorities

Having in mind the fair determination of the priorities for solving the damages caused as a consequence of the war actions in part of the crisis areas, the expert team of the Coordinating Body for dealing with crisis decided to propose to the Coordinating Body priorities for financing which represent an essential condition for returning the displaced persons in their houses as to create conditions for building trust among the citizens from the crisis areas. As places, which have safe conditions for performing certain construction works as to create normal living conditions in the destroyed, caught with fire or damaged houses of the citizens, the following villages have already been determined:

Skopje area: Aracinovo, Brnjarci and Ljuboten;

Tetovo area: Poroj, Dzepciste, Neprosteno, Lesok and Tearce;

Bitola area

In addition to the safety aspect the Coordinating Body also because of the national composition, which confirms the efforts for building trust measures, has determined this places.

Phase I, (by 31 December 2001), will include as the most important the repairs of the buildings with damages classified in category 1 and 2, covering the biggest number 3.993 houses or 74% from the total number, and in addition, they engage 45% from the required funds or EURO 25.423.080,00, clearance of the waste with a value of EURO 417.420,00, repairs on the railway with a value of EURO 567.170,00 and the whole repairs of the schools and the first-aid stations, no matter of the category, with value of EURO 2.757.000,00 or in total EURO 29.164.670,00.

Phase II, (from 1 January 2002 to 30 June 2002), will include reconstructions of the buildings with damages classified in category 3 and 4, covering 55% from the required funds or EURO 30.978.760,00, road infrastructure with a value of EURO 2.497.440,00 and the religious building with a value of EURO 1.196.000,00 or in total EURO 34.672.200,00.

The expert team within the Coordinating body proposes to the donors to have in mind to engage for the procurement of materials and equipment, as well as for caring out the investment works, Macedonian companies, of course, at competitive conditions and work prices, for the purpose to support the economy of the Republic of Macedonia.

• • •

Finally, the expert team within the Coordinating Body for dealing with crises, once again, points out the fact that this document presents initial assessments for the required financial aid as per priorities and in the course of the practical implementation of this Action Plan certain corrections are possible which will depends on the speed of implementing the peace in the Republic of Macedonia and on the possibilities to realize, from safety aspect, the defined activities and the speed of returning the displaced persons in their houses which represents the basic priority in the activities. In case of changes in the above stated needs for financial aid with regard to certain priorities, the expert team within the Coordinating Body shall, in cooperation with the representatives of the donors and the agencies for implementation, do the relevant corrections and inform the donors for that.


Geographic Plan of damaged houses (Map)
Review of damages by village and municipality (Table)