At the recently held summit of six Western Balkan countries and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, BiH received a total of 700 million EUR for the construction of Corridor 5C. Pierre Heilbronn, one of the Vice-Presidents of the EBRD and the person in charge for the Balkan operations, noted that this is the largest investment by the EBRD in our region at the moment.
It was realized thanks to the adoption of amendments to the Law on Excises.
“The EBRD could double the amount of investment in BH infrastructure due to very positive events that took place at the end of last year. It is clear that the amendments to the law were a difficult decision for the authorities of BiH. However, we can already see its results. The main message is that the more reforms are implemented and hard decisions are made, the larger investments will arrive,” said Heilbronn.
He also explained that the EBRD strongly invests in regional projects as well. He noted activities on the construction of a corridor in Macedonia, which includes a modern highway and railway, then Corridor X that will connect Serbia and Macedonia, the Road 7 that is connecting Serbia, Kosovo and Albania, and many other activities related to the improvement of road connections between Montenegro and Albania.
“We are also engaged in the so-called soft connections. We are investing a lot in reforms that will make the Balkans region more attractive to investors, both domestic and foreign. The regional cooperation is very important, as well as its transfer to specific projects. We are also funding the regional trade chamber. We have established a regional online investment platform. Those who want to invest can find all the details in one place. We are also working hard with our partners in the region on eliminating the non-tariff barriers,” concluded Heilbronn.
(Source: akta.ba)
