Skopje, 28th July 2013 (MIA) – Ministry of Finance extended a grant in the amount of Denar 1,220,000 to Vevcani Municipality for construction of an access road to the newly built school “Straso Pindzur”. Funds are provided under the Municipal Service Improvement Project, financed by the World Bank.

By constructing the access road to the facility, it will be connected with the asphalt road in the municipality, which will provide for putting the new school into operation from September this year. 250 pupils from first to ninth grade will attend the school.

So far, the teaching was performed in the municipal building of Vevcani, where the space did not meet the teaching criteria. Before 2006, the teaching was performed in a school built in 1945, which, due to the building being dilapidated and experiencing statics problems, it had to be abandoned, since it was a threat to the safety of the pupils and the teachers.

Total funds under the Municipal Service Improvement Project are in the amount of EUR 56.1 million. It started to be implemented in August 2009, and its closing date is by November 2017.

So far, 41 municipalities have expressed interest in participating in the Project, 28 out of which have already concluded one or several sub-loan agreements with the Ministry of Finance, and have started implementing the projects, while the remaining 13 municipalities are in the process of preparation of the project documentation.

Municipal Service Improvement Project envisages extending performance based investment grants to the municipalities. Grants are extended as an incentive and a reward to the municipalities for successfully implemented reform activities envisaged under the Project, as is the case with Vevcani Municipality.