Thousands of people made homeless by Italy's worst earthquake in three decades will be moved from tent villages into more permanent housing before autumn, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said today.
Mr Berlusconi, who today visited the rugged Abruzzo region devastated by the April 6th quake, said that 65,000 people had been displaced by the disaster, most of whom are now living in camps or in hotel rooms paid for by the government.
About half of these would probably lose their homes due to severe structure damage, he said.
"We want, before the autumn cold arrives, to close all the tent villages," Mr Berlusconi said during a visit to a makeshift school in a camp in the city of L'Aquila, which bore the brunt of the quake.
"The government, and myself above all, does not intend to build shanties."
Italy's worst quake since 1980 killed 294 people and ravaged scores of medieval hilltowns and historic monuments.
Mr Berlusconi said the state could provide people with about one-third of the money to rebuild their homes and businesses. Victims could seek special mortgages with a maximum interest rate of 4 per cent to finance up to half the cost, he said.
The government has estimated the total reconstruction cost at €12 billion, a fraction of the country's €1.6-trillion annual economic output.
Recent attempts at rebuilding after quakes in southern Italy have dragged on for years, however, dogged by allegations of corruption and meddling by organised crime.
Reuters