The engineering battalion of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Mobile Training Team of EUFOR’s Hungarian Contingent launched today the post-flood reconstruction of the Jasenica steel bridge in Zvornik. The reconstruction works are financed jointly by the European Union through its Floods Recovery Programme and the Municipality of Zvornik in the amount of 40.000 KM and 25.000 KM respectively. The reconstruction of the bridge, which is nearly 16 metres long, is due to be finalised in 10 days.
The reconstruction of the Jasenica bridge is a part of a wider post-flood restoration effort of the road infrastructure in the Zvornik region, which suffered damages of around 1.6 million KM in the May 2014 floods. “The reconstruction of the Jasenica bridge will restore access to homes and agricultural areas for 32 directly affected families and facilitate the daily commute for more than 60 families in the surrounding villages. We are grateful for the EU’s financial assistance and the engineering expertise provided by the colleagues from the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR,” said Milan Cvjetinović, Head of Department for Economy, Agriculture and Social Activities, municipality of Zvornik.
Since August 2014, the Armed Forces of BiH have been actively involved in the rehabilitation of roads damaged by floodwaters and landslides and reconstruction of destroyed bridges – which has included installation of pontoon bridges as a temporary solution. “The objective of our involvement is to help our fellow citizens by alleviating the consequences of the natural disaster which has significantly impacted their lives, and to contribute to normalising of living conditions for them and their children,“ noted Uma Sinanović, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence of BiH.
Under the EU Floods Recovery Programme, a total of five infrastructure reconstruction projects are due to be implemented jointly by the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR, out of which the reconstruction of the Jasenica bridge is the first one. These reconstruction projects are a part of the EU Programme’s Communal Infrastructure component, through which the EU is financing the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 100 local roads and bridges and 10 water and sanitation facilities. 18 of these projects have been finalised so far and additional 38 projects are in progress.
“The reconstruction of the Jasenica bridge serves as a good example of a true multi-institutional cooperation in the post-flood recovery process. Everybody wants to see the bridge rebuilt in a top quality manner, and we are therefore glad to have the military engineers from the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR as our implementing partners,“ said Andy McGuffie, Spokesperson of the EU Delegation to BiH and the EU Special Representative’s office.
