Council The Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina has paid 9.2 million BAM to the Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA). This is the first tranche of aid for March, April and May to the company, which is in serious financial trouble due to the debt of the Republika Srpska in the Viaduc case. That the BiH institutions have paid the first aid for BHANSA was confirmed by Vinko Malnar, president of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who told N1 yesterday that the agency’s workers are ready to stop working if they do not receive their salaries by June 15 at the latest.
However, since at least part of the money has been paid to the BHANSA account, it is increasingly certain that the company’s workers will also receive their salaries.
It is important to point out that earlier, at the proposal of the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH, a decision was made to finance BHANSA on a temporary basis until the end of the third quarter of 2025. This is an amount slightly more than 60 million BAM.
According to this decision, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH is obliged to transfer funds to BHANSA on a monthly basis based on its request for funds on a monthly basis in accordance with the expenditures from the adopted Financial Plan and the execution in the previous period.
About Viaduct
The “Viaduct” case represents one of the most complex legal and financial disputes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with serious consequences for state institutions, especially the BiH Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA).
In 2004, the Government of Republika Srpska (RS) awarded a concession to the Slovenian company Viaduct and its subsidiary HES Vrbas to build hydroelectric power plants on the Vrbas River. However, in the same year, RS awarded a concession for the Bočac 2 hydroelectric power plant, which prevented the implementation of the Viaduct project. Therefore, Viaduct initiated arbitration proceedings before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington in 2014, claiming that it had been harmed by the termination of the contract. In 2022, the Arbitration Panel ruled in favor of Viaduct, obliging BiH to pay 40 million euros, and the debt with interest now exceeds 70 million euros.
Consequences for BHANSA
The outstanding debt to Viaduct has direct consequences for BHANSA. Due to the court decision, Eurocontrol froze payments to BHANSA, which led to a reduction in employee salaries and jeopardized the functioning of air traffic in BiH. The BiH Council of Ministers approved temporary financing for BHANSA in the amount of 60 million BAM to overcome the crisis, but a long-term solution has not yet been reached.
Legal and political implications
The BiH Prosecutor’s Office and the Banja Luka District Public Prosecutor’s Office are conducting investigations into the “Viaduct” case, focusing on possible abuse of office and other irregularities. The BiH Presidency adopted conclusions calling on the Council of Ministers to take all necessary measures to enforce the ICSID Tribunal’s judgment and protect BiH’s property, N1 writes.
