SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- The new administration of Sebastian Pinera announced Friday the first post-earthquake reconstruction measures aimed at school funding, temporary shelters and assistance for the fishing sector.
Chile was hit by a destructive 8.8-magnitude earthquake and a tsunami on Feb. 27. The total cost of the destruction is estimated at some $30 billion.
Municipal school reconstruction will be supported by a 10 billion peso ($18.91 million) fund to reestablish classes before April 26, said Education Minister Joaquin Lavin in a press briefing.
Children in the hardest-hit quake areas haven't yet started the 2010 school year, which began the second week of March.
The government also announced 20,000 scholarships to avoid higher-education desertions. The cost of both measures is $26 million, said the minister.
The non-industrialized small-scale fishing sector, hard hit by the tsunami that followed the earthquake, will receive CLP5.5 billion to assist 9,000 families, said Economy Minister Juan Andres Fontaine.
Individual fishermen who lost their boats will receive aid equivalent to 25% of a new vessel for up to CLP2 million. Additionally, certificate of registration debts will be forgiven.
The government will install 20,000 small wooden houses, that will complement the 20,000 financed by a local charity.
"To ensure nobody is left in the [coming] rains, we are buying 25,000 field tents. We are also implementing new shelters", said Planning Minister Felipe Kast at a joint press conference with his Economy and Education colleagues.
Kast also said all families that lost their homes will receive thermal insulation, mattresses, kitchen utensils and a basic electricity kit. The total cost of the aid supplied by the Planning Ministry totals $75 million.
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones Newswires
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