Valencia (Spain) (AFP) – Spain’s central government will cover the full cost of rebuilding schools, libraries, and other municipal buildings damaged in last year’s deadly floods, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday. The central government had initially said it would cover 50 percent of the estimated cost of 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion). But it will now pay 100 percent, Sanchez said after meeting mayors from the hardest-hit municipalities in the eastern region of Valencia.
“We are talking about 100 administrative centres, more or less 45 nursery schools, 58 libraries, 55 sports centres, 40 day centres, 16 markets, and many more damaged buildings,” the Socialist prime minister said. “The media spotlight may have shifted to other issues, but as we said from the beginning of this crisis, the government of Spain will not look away from Valencia,” he added.
The central government will also pick up the full 500-million-euro tab to repair the damage done to water treatment, supply, and sanitation infrastructure by the floods, Sanchez said. Sanchez’s government has until now put together aid packages collectively worth 16.6 billion euros in grants and loans to help stricken citizens.
The October 2024 floods caused significant damage in about 80 cities and claimed 232 lives nationwide. Most of the deaths were in Valencia.
© 2024 AFP
