For seven years, Bosnia and Herzegovina is building a tunnel fed, in the east of the country.
It is the first phase of the fast road Sarajevo-Goražde, which is part of the project of connecting the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, with Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
The construction of the tunnel was supposed to be completed four years ago.
From the highway of the Federation of BiH, they say for radio free Europe (RSE) as a tunnel is five kilometers long, and the value of works is higher than 40.5 million euros.
About 33 million euros provided a federal government from the accumulated profit of the public company BH Telecom, according to the highway page.
The report on the work of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Federation of BiH from 2023 is stated in the capital transfer for the construction of tunnels, 10 million euros were planned in that year, but not stated as much money approved and implemented for these needs.
And that is all that Bosnia and Herzegovina did in the past decade when it comes to connecting two main cities.
The idea of building the highway between Sarajevo and Belgrade has been ten years old. During the Trillateral Business Forum of BiH-Serbia-Turkey, the Republic of Turkey was offered to realize it.
Six years ago Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have signed an agreement on cooperation on the project of construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway, worth four billion euros.
In the route of BiH, it is necessary to build 133 bridges with a total length of 25.8 kilometers, as well as 53 tunnels with a total length of 37.5 kilometers.
Belgrade-Sarajevo highway is the first highway that will direct Serbia and BiH, and it is great importance to connect in the region.
Where is the problem?
Authorities within Bosnia and Herzegovina could not harmonize for months by which direction, the highway from the direction of Bosnia and Herzegovina should go to Serbia.
At the beginning of September 2022. two different highway shares were agreed. One would go from Sarajevo to the northeast of BiH – Tuzla and Bijeljina, and the second from Sarajevo to Eastern Bosnia and Pala, Rogatica, Visegrad to Vardišta in Serbia.
In October 2019, the beginning of works in Serbia in October 2019 in the northwestern Serbian and Turkey, Aleksandar Vučić and the Recep of the Presidency of BiH: Željko Komsic, Milorad Dodik and Šefik Džaferović.
According to the latest announcements, Serbia should finish the share of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway by the end of the year.
The construction of the part through Bosnia and Herzegovina is “in a stalemate for political reasons,” says the RSE Traffic Minister BH. Entities Republika Srpska (RS), Nedeljko Čubrilović.
“Now at this point cannot be said that the Federation of BiH is interested in doing something. I think that it is about some political upheavals that do not go to the development of infrastructure and economic movements,” says Čubrilović Rse.
What has been done so far in BiH?
All activities related to the construction of the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway in the state level coordinates the Ministry of Transport and Communications of BiH.
It was not answered by the query of the RSE on what has been done in the realization and who has been funded by this project when it comes to BiH.
From the Federation of BiH, participating in the construction of the Sarajevo – Belgrade highway, said in response to the RSE that the route includes several shares in various stages of development.
The “main project” is a road direction that connects Sarajevo with Tuzla, through Brčko and Orašje, ie shares of Tuzla-Maoča, which is 23 kilometers long and is the final phase.
“For the shares of Žepče – Tuzla, which is 55.4 kilometers long, the study and project documentation at the Idefact Project and Feasibility Study in 2015. years,” they say for RSE from the Federation of BiH.
From the Government of the Tuzla Canton, through which a part of the highway will go, they say that they have no competition, nor official information about the share of shares that goes through this canton, in the northeast of BiH.
They add that some construction initiatives sent to the Federal Government and the relevant competent ministries, but the answer did not receive.
As for the shares that connects Sarajevo and Belgrade, through Pala, Praca and Visegrad, 2018. The “conceptual design and the study of the transmission of the fast road Sarajevo-Vardište through the EU program”.
Delays with completion of works through Rs
The RS Minister of Traffic Nedeljko Čubrilović, also said that part of the highway from Banja Luka to Bijeljina is mostly financed by Serbia, and that the completion of the works is expected in the next year.
“With the end of work, it is late for several reasons, which is concerned in RS, will be almost over the end of this year. Serbia continuing to keep that dynamics quite well,” says Čubrilović. Stock in Serbia promised by the end of 2025.
Belgrade-Sarajevo highway is being built in two directions in Serbia. Požega-Kotroman, border with BiH About 60 kilometers and shares Sremska Rača, border with BiH – Kuzmin, about 18 kilometers with a bridge over the Sava River.
This project coordinates the Ministry of Construction, Infrastructure and Traffic in Serbia.
The Škemska Rača Highway section, according to the latest plans and reports, will be completed by the end of this year, in early May during the tour of the Minister of Construction of Serbia, Aleksandra Sofronijević.
The route is, by the way, designed as a classic highway with two drives and one stoppage.
Along the route, 24 bridges, overpasses and omissions with a total length of about 1,543 meters, are listed on the Public Enterprise Puts in Serbia.
The bridge over the Sava River is the most demanding part of the section with a length of 1,310 meters.
The construction of the Kuzmin-Sremska raca highway has geostratically significance, as it will connect the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and enable the connection with pan-European corridors.
The construction of the interstate bridge on the river Sava and the construction of a new joint border crossing Sremska Rača, including the development of planning and technical documentation, professional and technical control of works and technical inspection, financed by the Republic of Serbia.
The works are performed by Turkey company Tasyapi.
The method of financing the Kotroman-Vardište border crossing will be the subject of the Special Agreements of the Contracting Parties, stated in the Agreement signed in 2019. BiH Council of Ministers and the Government of Serbia.
