Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor on Monday opened the new facilities of the Veli Vrh elementary school in the northern Adriatic city of Pula, said to be the most beautiful school in the country.
A total of HRK 66 million was invested in the construction of the school after the original building burned down two years ago. The government invested HRK 6 million, Istria County HRK 1 million, while Pula invested the majority of the amount.
The new complex covers 7,800 square metres and consists of four buildings and a 1,200-square metre sports ground with an amphitheatre.
"Istria should be among the first to give and the government certainly acknowledges this fact," Kosor said, adding the government had managed to set aside funds for the school despite the difficult economic situation.
County prefect Ivan Jakovcic thanked the PM and the government for recognising the importance of the project and voiced confidence that this would mark a change in political relations between Istria and Zagreb.
"We don't want Istria to be the first to give and the last to receive any more, but at least in the middle when it comes to receiving," he said.
The Veli Vrh school burned down on 24 February 2008 and the construction of the new facilities began on 15 June 2009.
