Rush for Applications for Elevators and Facades: The State Will Increase Funding

A total of 1,028 applications have been received for three public calls from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property: 480 for the installation of elevators, 116 for facade renovations, and 432 for the energy renovation of public sector buildings. The value of the submitted projects, according to the Ministry’s data and the average costs of the submitted interventions, exceeds 600 million euros.

The results of the calls and plans for the allocation of funds were presented on Friday at the Ministry by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Branko Bačić.

Particularly high interest has been shown for the installation of elevators and facade renovations, for which the state initially allocated a total of five million euros in this year’s budget: two million for elevators and three million for facades.

However, Bačić announced that due to the large number of applications, additional funds will be secured through a rebalancing of the state budget and the budget for 2027 to enable the realization of all projects that meet the prescribed conditions. According to him, around 27 million euros will be needed for the state co-financing, significantly more than the initially planned five million.

The average reported cost for the installation of elevators is around 115 thousand euros, while the average value of facade renovations is around 269 thousand euros.

The highest number of applications for elevators came from Zagreb – 236, or almost half of the total number. Following are Split with 76, Rijeka with 26, Pula with 21, and Karlovac with 14 applications.

Zagreb’s dominance is even more pronounced in facade applications. Out of a total of 116 applications, as many as 87 come from Zagreb, while Karlovac and Osijek each submitted six applications.

There is no ‘Fastest Finger’ for Elevators and Facades

In facade renovations, costs are divided into three equal parts: one-third is covered by the state, one-third by the local government unit, and one-third by co-owners. The state and local government can jointly provide a maximum of 300 thousand euros per building, and the local unit must have secured funds and participate in the program.

For elevators, the state covers 33 percent of eligible costs, and applications from local government units that have also secured funds have priority in scoring.

The Ministry emphasizes that the ‘fastest finger’ system does not apply to these calls. Each application is scored separately, and calls will be announced every year.

During September and October, a check of the completeness and eligibility of applications will follow, after which scoring and ranking will be conducted. Decisions on the allocation of funds are expected in the last quarter of this year.

Five Times More Money is Needed for Public Buildings

An even greater disparity between available funds and interest was recorded in the call for the energy renovation of public sector buildings within the Competitiveness and Cohesion Program 2021-2027.

A total of 432 project proposals worth 531.5 million euros have been received for the call, while the available allocation is 106 million euros. The value of the requests thus reaches 501 percent of the available funds.

Unlike the elevator and facade programs, Bačić announced that the allocation for the energy renovation of public buildings will not be increased, so funds will be awarded to the highest-ranked projects until the available 106 million euros are exhausted.

Of this amount, 21 million euros is reserved for assisted and mountainous areas, and 85 million for other areas. Eligible applicants are state administration bodies, local and regional government units, public institutions, associations, and religious communities.

Projects must achieve at least 50 percent savings in annual thermal energy required for heating and at least 30 percent savings in primary energy, along with a reduction in CO2 emissions.

New Architectural Policies and Amendments to the Reconstruction Act

Bačić also presented the draft of new Architectural Policies of the Republic of Croatia, a document that will be sent for public consultation and is intended to guide the development and management of space over the next seven years.

The document has five main goals, including more efficient spatial management, higher quality living space for citizens, raising public awareness and participation, and sustainable and resilient space.

Amendments to the Act on the Reconstruction of Buildings Damaged by Earthquakes were also announced, which would amend Article 12 and abolish the allocation of revenue from the six percent share for decentralized functions.

The Ministry justifies the change by the fact that funds from national and European sources for earthquake reconstruction from 2020 to 2025 have been utilized, as well as significant growth in revenues of local and regional government units and projections of their further growth.

Exceptions will remain for areas where a disaster was declared: Zagreb, Sisak-Moslavina, and Karlovac counties.