ZAGREB, 19 Nov (Hina) – The construction of 18 new centres for the elderly across Croatia will provide 2,000 new accommodation places for senior and infirm people, as well as non-institutional services for nearly 5,000 elderly citizens, Labour Minister Marin Piletić said on Wednesday in Grubišno Polje.

In that city in western Slavonia, the minister and local officials visited the construction site of a new centre for the elderly.

Piletić said that the centres are being built as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, in partnership with cities, municipalities and counties.

The total value of the project in Grubišno Polje amounts to €12.4 million. The ministry has secured €6.2 million, the City of Grubišno Polje has taken out a loan of €4.9 million, and around €300,000 is still needed to complete the project.

The new centre will have capacity to accommodate 102 people, and its opening is expected in 2026.

The minister announced that in the second half of next year a new public call would be issued for another round of construction to increase capacity, with at least one care home per county.