Muhamed Hercegovac lives near the town of Vitez, in central Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Not far from his village, pipes have been installed which, he says, are now covered with grass and completely forgotten.
He points out for Radio Free Europe (RFE) that almost nothing today shows a sign that the gas pipeline, which cost tens of millions of marks, passes through that route, was never put into operation, while the prosecution is investigating possible embezzlement.
“People were compensated because they used their properties. Now no one mentions it. It has healed and leveled off and only some marks can be seen. The people now use that land – they mow and work as if it is not there. It came and now it’s gone, and that’s it, “ he stated.
The gas pipeline in central BiH, which was announced as the first phase of connecting to Croatia’s gas system, has been unusable for almost a decade since its construction.
The company “BH Gas”, whose founder is the Government of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), started in 2012, and in 2013 completed the construction of the gas pipeline from Zenica to Travnik, worth 41.5 million marks (more than 21 million euros).
More than 40 kilometers long, it was conceived as a solution to the problem of gas supply to Busovaca, Vitez, Novi Travnik, and Travnik. In the next phase of gasification, other cities in central BiH were also planned.
But, nine years after construction, it is not functional, while most residents in municipalities in central BiH use wood and pellets to heat their homes.
After the construction in 2013, instead of distributing gas to households and industry, the contract between “BH Gas” and the contractor was terminated, and lawsuits were filed.
Due to the observed irregularities and lawsuits, after nine years, it did not receive a use permit from the Ministry of Spatial Planning of the FBiH.
The Committee for Energy, Industry, and Mining of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the FBiH does not have information on the future of the Zenica-Travnik gas pipeline, which was announced as the beginning of the strategic project of the Southern Interconnection, says Committee member Sanela Klaric. She stressed that the gas sector in BiH is generally facing a lack of interest and political will, RSE writes.
E.Dz.
