With the opening of a new highway section on Corridor Vc near Doboj, the highway network in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been increased by more than six kilometers. This is the first section of Corridor Vc through the Republika Srpska (RS), which was completed thanks to a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) of 70 million and a grant from the European Union (EU) of 15 million euros.
BiH received six kilometers of the highway Corridor Vc. It is a section that connects Tovira and Kostajnica near Doboj and includes two interchanges, Johovac and Rudanka, as well as a new bridge over the Bosna River.
”It is significant for everyone. First of all, for the city of Doboj, which will reduce congestion through the city itself with this section. When the passage is finally completed, that is, when it connects with the border of the Federation, i.e., Medakovo. The second significance is for the RS. And the third thing, I think, is the most significant for BiH. That is, the entire Corridor Vc,” Slobodan Stanarevic stated, director of a public company “Autoputevi RS”.
In addition to improving the quality of life in Doboj, according to the mayor of Doboj, investors from all over Europe are already coming forward who are interested in doing business in Doboj, which will soon be an hour’s drive away from Sarajevo, two from Zagreb and Belgrade, and four from Budapest.
”With the construction of Corridor Vc, we will have a network of highways that will be the lifeblood of the entire BiH, but it passes through Doboj and that puts us somewhere in the priority of all others,” Boris Jerinic emphasized, Mayor of Doboj.
The citizens of Doboj, which was the largest railway junction in the former Yugoslavia, do not hide their satisfaction that their city will soon become the largest intersection of highways.
The largest part of the so far completed Corridor Vc was built thanks to grants and loans from the EU and European financial institutions.
”BiH has been granted grant funds in the amount of almost 700 million euros so far. Mainly the funds have been approved for the transport sector, and mostly the grant funds have been approved for Corridor Vc,” Sabina Dizdarevic said, DEI.
The public companies “Autoceste FBiH” and “Autoputevi RS” have intensified cooperation in the implementation of large infrastructure projects, of which the completion of the construction of sections of the highway on the Pan-European Corridor Vc is a priority.
