App reveals cost of Skopje 2014

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) has developed an interactive app, “Skopje 2014 Uncovered”, giving users access to the costs behind the government-funded revamp of the Macedonian capital.

“Skopje 2014 Uncovered” works together with a database of the same name to provide information on the costs of the renovated buildings, new facades, sculptures, monuments and fountains that form part of the revamp branded “Skopje 2014”.

Users of the app must simply take a photo of the structure in question to access information regarding its cost. It is also possible to calculate the total cost of a group of structures in close proximity using the panorama photography feature.

The cost of Skopje’s new look has already risen sharply, far exceeding the initial figure of 80 million euros (approx. US$88 million) envisaged when the project was announced in 2010. The project is now due to cost a total of 633 million euros (approx. US$695 million).

Taking as its trademark a neo-classical building style, the project has been widely criticised by the architectural community as an extravagance, while its supporters say it will transform the image of a city tainted by decades of dull socialist architecture.

The app is available for Android devices and can be purchased on Google Play.

Source: Balkan Insight