Major rebuilding is needed to house some 17,000 people left homeless by the earthquake and to help business and tourism recover
By Benet Koleka
TIRANA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Albania will need 1.08 billion euros ($1.19 billion) to rebuild dwellings for some 17,000 people made homeless by an earthquake, and also help tourism, agriculture and business recover, a study by Albania and international agencies said on Wednesday.
The European Union's office in Tirana said the Albanian government, United Nations, World Bank and European Union assessed "the total effects of the disaster in the 11 affected municipalities amount to over 980 million euros".
"Sectors reflecting the greatest needs are housing, representing almost 76% of all needs, followed by education and infrastructure," the EU office said in a statement.
Albania was struck by an 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Nov. 26 that killed 51 people
The European Commission will host a donors conference in Brussels on Feb. 17 to mobilize help for Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries seeking to join the affluent bloc. The needs assessment study will help donors pick projects.
($1 = 0.9090 euros)
(Reporting by Benet Koleka; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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