TIRANA (Albania), March 18 (SeeNews) - Albania said on Tuesday it will allocate 6.0 billion Albanian leks ($76.3 million/48.3 million euro) to finance the reconstruction of the Gerdec area, which was damaged by a chain of explosions at an ammunition dump.
“The total sum from the state budget for emergency situations and government reserves is estimated at 6.0 billion leks. We think, according to initial estimates of the damage, that the sum will be enough to cope with this situation,” Deputy Finance Minister Sherefedin Shehu said in a statement.
The Albanian government decided to finance the complete reconstruction of the ruined area, he said. Shehu added that the financial aid is expected to grow through international donations.
A huge chain of explosions occurred on Saturday in the ammunition dump in Gerdec village, some 10 kilometres from the capital, Tirana. At least 15 people died in the incident, while some 300 were injured.
More than 300 houses were destroyed and another 2,000 houses and Business premises were damaged, including the country's only international airport, Mother Teresa, which is nearby.
“Another source is the financial support from all the Albanians themselves,” Shehu said. On Sunday Albania opened an “Aid for victims of Gerdec” bank account at Raiffeisen bank Albania. “The government is currently opening such accounts in the main commercial banks,” Shehu added.
The cause of the explosions is still unknown, but police said earlier that a terrorist attack was not suspected.
Albania has some 100,000 tonnes of ammunition stored in depots countrywide, mainly of Russian and Chinese make manufactured in the 1960s.
(1 euro= 124.1099 Albanian leks)
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