A 500-unit development adjacent to the existing Novo Brdo borough in the west of Ljubljana will encompass 18 buildings, according to Housing Fund director Črtomir Remec.

The second project in Ljubljana will be a special development for youths aged 18-29, with 109 one- or two-person units to be built south-west of the city centre, close to the student dormitories on Gerbičeva Street.

In Maribor, the fund plans to build 212 flats on the edge of the city, at the foot of the Pekrska Gorca hill. This will be just the first part of a planned 400-unit development.

Rents are expected to average 10 euro per square metre in Ljubljana and 5-6 euro in Maribor.

The flats will go some way towards addressing a pressing shortage of affordable housing in Slovenia, although demand is significantly higher.

The latest estimates suggest Ljubljana would immediately need 4,000 affordable rental flats, but over the medium term only 1500 are to be built.