The interim Government had its away-from-home session in Banska Stiavnica on Wednesday, aiming to discuss financial aid for the historical town following the extensive fire that damaged a number of local buildings on March 18. Speaking at a press conference after the session, interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger claimed that the finances that the government had allocated on the same day for the restoration of local buildings that were damaged by a recent extensive fire would be followed by further financial aid. "There will be more depending on how the severity of damage is quantified. A total of seven buildings were affected by the fire, our aim is to get help or financial aid for all of them. We are waiting for the evaluation of insurance companies and exactly calculated sums," Heger said. Banska Stiavnica’s mayor Nadezda Babiakova expressed her appreciation for the fact that the Government has fulfilled the promise it gave to the town after the outbreak of the fire, adding that she hopes all the buildings concerned will be restored by 2025. Earlier in the day, the Government allocated a sum of up to €4 million for Banska Stiavnica in order to restore buildings that were damaged by the recent fire, while a further €7 million has been allocated for the ministries concerned to repair damaged buildings and archives under their administration.
The state is also ready to help private owners of buildings damaged by the March fire in the centre of Banska Stiavnica. However, according to interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger, since this is aid from public sources, the state has to wait for further necessary information, for example, the amount of compensation from the commercial insurance of these buildings. "As soon as these facts are provided, we're ready to sit down immediately and release these funds," emphasised Heger, noting that even if the task of preparing the aid mechanism is set by the end of June, it does not mean that they will wait until this deadline. "The Culture Ministry already has that mechanism ready now," stressed Heger.
