Works on a key investment in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Corridor Vc are progressing according to the expected dynamics, and seven construction sites are currently active where works are being carried out in a total length of 55 kilometers. According to JP Autocesta FBiH, it is about the sections Putnikovo Brdo – Medakovo, Medakovo – Ozimice, Poprikuše – Nemila, Nemila – Vranduk, Vranduk – Ponirak, Ponirak – Vraca and the Kvanj – Buna tunnel, and this year construction sites should open on some of the most complex and demanding parts of this large infrastructure project.
It is building at full steam
– 138 kilometers of highway were built in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, we are halfway through the Vc corridor through the Federation of BiH, which is also the longest with the most demanding terrain in BiH – said recently the director of JP Autocesta FBiH Denis Lasić. He points out that everything is ready for the signing of the contract on the construction of an important subsection in the traffic connection of Mostar and the whole of Herzegovina with the highway on the Vc corridor, that is, the subsection Mostar south – the Kvanj tunnel with a length of 9.2 km.
– For that subsection, all the additional requirements of the local population and associations that they requested from the EBRD were met, and regarding additional tests and assessments of the impact of the selected route on the environment and the population, additional documentation was publicly presented at the end of October last year. When the works on this subsection begin, around 30 kilometers of highway will be under construction in Herzegovina – says Lasić.
We are talking about the Kvanj – Buna tunnel subsection, for the construction of which a contract has already been signed, and the Mostar North – Mostar South subsection, for which the contract will be signed in the second quarter of this year. As for the northern part of the corridor, Lasić says that the strategic plan is to complete the highway from Sarajevo or Bradina to the end point on the Sava by the end of 2026.
– On that part, 50 kilometers of the highway are under construction and for now all the deadlines have been agreed for the completion of this traffic direction as well – explains the director of JP Autocesta FBiH. In addition to the above, this year should also open the construction site on one of the largest and most demanding facilities on the highway that passes through FBiH, which will symbolically connect Mostar and Sarajevo upon its completion. Namely, in the first part of the year, the construction of the Prenj tunnel should be contracted, which will shorten the journey from Mostar to Sarajevo by 30 minutes, and its opening should mark the end of the works on the construction of the Vc corridor through FBiH.
When completed, the Prenj tunnel will be 10.9 kilometers long, while the length of the entire section is 12 kilometers. Upon completion of construction, this tunnel will be the ninth longest in Europe, or the 30th in the world. The estimated value of this share is about 1.17 billion KM. A contract is expected to be signed for the no less complex Mostar North – Mostar South section, the value of which is around half a billion marks.
Prenj tunnel and complexity
– In the next period, the construction of the highway through Herzegovina will be intensified the most, which is one of the priorities, all with the aim of connecting with Croatia and the European road network. Tenders for the most complex sections, such as the Prenj tunnel and Mostar north – Mostar south, are in the final phase. On the Mostar North – Mostar South section, two loops of the Mostar North and Mostar South highways will be built, as well as a 15-kilometer route between these two loops and for the construction of a two-lane road connecting these loops with the existing M-17 highway. The section should have five tunnels and ten viaducts on each of the two roads – said Lasić.
In addition to the above, works on the construction of the Ozimica – Poprikusa section with a length of 12.8 kilometers are also expected to begin this year. It is about the only section on the section of the highway between Zenica and Doboj where work has not yet started, he reports Press Media BiH.
