English
Work on the devastated Universal Hall in Skopje will begin by the end of the week, said Culture Minister Zoran Ljutkov, who added that the concert hall will be rebuilt in 2027. The hall, built with help from Bulgaria following the devastating 1963 earthquake, was run down and eventually burnt down during reconstruction work in April 2024.
Ljutkov said that 20 million EUR are set aside for the project and will be spent over three years. The work will now have to include reinforcing the metal construction that was damaged in the fire. The Universal Hall is supposed to be one of the seven sites active in Skopje in 2028, when the city will be a European cultural capital. The Minister said that organizing the event is going slowly, due to poor communication and activities on the part of outgoing Skopje Mayor Arsovska.
