Some 36 refugee and displaced families from Kosovo and Metohija, who lived in a collective center "PIM Krnjača", received today roof over their head in settlement Kamendin in Zemun.

The opening ceremony was attended by Commissioner for Refugees and Migration Mr. Vladimir Cucić, Deputy Mayor of the City of Belgrade Mr. Andreja Mladenovic, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Mr. Oskar Benedikt, UNHCR representative in Serbia Mr. Hans Friedrich Shodder and city secretary for social protection Ms. Nataša Stanisavljević.

"It is right that we, who set up up a collective center in Krnjaca, one of the 700 collective centers in Serbia  at the time, are witnessing the closure of the center. Serbia had more than 60,000 refugees who were accommodated in collective centers. Of that number there are 275 people still in the centers. The remaining centers will be closed until the end of the year", said Commissioner Cucić.

New housing units intended for social housing in supportive environment, were built under the project "Support to the improvement of the living conditions of forced migrants and closure of collective centers", totalling 14.2 million EUR.

The project is funded by the European Union through the EU Delegation to Serbia from IPA funds 2012, and implemented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in cooperation with partner NGO Vision.

With this project, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, as the responsible institution for solving housing and other needs of refugees and internally displaced persons and the closing of collective centers, was provided support in the process of closing the remaining collective centers.

The main objective of this project is to improve the living conditions and the integration of refugees and internally displaced persons accommodated in collective center "PIM Krnjaca" and the most vulnerable local population.

For the construction of the building intended for social housing in supportive environment City of Belgrade has provided infrastructural equipped land, urban planning documentation and provided all the necessary permits.

The facility will be managed by the City Centre for Social Work, who will be responsible for its appropriate use and will provide support in the further process of social integration.