Fmr govt official put in charge of coordinating reconstruction

Public Administration Minister Sanja Ajanović Hovnik announced after the government session on Thursday that Šefic had been appointed a state secretary in the prime minister's office for the purpose of overseeing and coordinating the reconstruction effort, which is expected to take years.

Šefic served as state secretary at the Interior Ministry between 2013 and 2018, during which time he was also in charge of refugee crisis management. He has served as advisor to the defence minister and was the national security advisor to former President Borut Pahor.

Ajanović Hovnik said Šefic would have "access to virtually all departments and will be in charge of setting priorities, so that actual aid and the reconstruction are effective".

Pipenbaher, best known to the general public as the designer of the Pelješac bridge in Croatia and the Črni Kal motorway viaduct in Slovenia, will meanwhile be in charge of setting up a multidisciplinary advisory body.

The new infrastructure will need to be good and stand the test of time, therefore it would be good to pool and use all the knowledge and skill Slovenia can offer, said the minister.

The advisory body will draft proposals for the government, she said. When asked whether Pipenbaher would head the new advisory body, Ajanović Hovnik said that a chair would be appointed after the body will have been formed.

Talking to the STA just over a week ago, Pipenbaher said climate change will have to be taken into account when planning transport infrastructure and rebuilding bridges that have been destroyed by the floods.

When designing and building bridges across torrential rivers, building pillars in river beds will have to be avoided as much as possible, he said, adding that would be somewhat more expensive but would significantly lower the risk of logjams and collapses.