Abandoning the practice of building short sections and contracting works for functional sections “from the interchange to interchange”, Public Enterprise “Motorways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH)” significantly accelerated the construction of the highway on Corridor Vc, with the goal of its completion by the end of 2028.
According to director Elmedin Voloder, the northern part of the Corridor, from Sarajevo to the Sava, should be fully built by the middle of 2026.
“The intensity of the work has increased in the last two years. Currently, 60 kilometers of the highway are under construction and some of the most demanding tunnels and bridges are being built,” said Voloder.
Works are underway from the Zenica north interchange to Zepce (20 km), as well as from the entity line towards Tesanj and from Tesanj to the southern part of Maglaj (30 km). By mid-April, the tender procedure for the construction of the last section in the north, from Maglaj to Zepce (12 km), will be launched, so this entire section of the Corridor will be under construction at the beginning of autumn.
In the southern part, from Ivan to Konjic, and from Konjic to the Prenj tunnel and to the Prenj tunnel to the Mostar north interchange, the main project financed by the European Union (EU) is being developed. This year will be very dynamic in the south. In first place is the Prenj tunnel, the most demanding project on the entire Corridor Vc. The Prenj tunnel will be 10.45 kilometers long and will be the ninth longest road tunnel in Europe, the 30th in the world, and the first tunnel in BiH that exceeds the limit of six kilometers. We are seriously preparing to start its construction this year,” Voloder emphasized.
Moreover, he announces that the construction sites of the Mostar North – Mostar South section and the Kvanj – Buna tunnel, with a total length of 19.4 kilometers, will soon be opened. This year, the construction of the Pocitelj – Zvirovici section (11 km) will also be completed.
“This includes the Pocitelj bridge, which is unique in that all four lanes of the highway are located on one structure. Along with the Prenj tunnel, the bridge over the Neretva is the most demanding object on the Corridor,” explained Voloder.
He is also satisfied with the results and says that there has been an expansion in the construction of road infrastructure in FBiH.
“In the past period, we have prepared the implementation of works on sections of the highway on Corridor Vc for a new 85 kilometers and investments of almost four billion BAM. Two contracts worth more than one billion BAM have already been signed, while the signing of other contracts is being prepared by the end of the third quarter of this year. We have done a great job in reorganizing procurement. Previously, tender procedures lasted an average of 18 months, and now the contract award procedure lasts up to eight months. All eight construction sites are worked on seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” Voloder stated.
“Motorways of the FBiH”, together with colleagues from “Republika Srpska (RS) Motorways”, started negotiations with “Croatian Motorways” on the establishment of a unified toll collection system.
They expect that in this way the system will be more efficient, and the waiting time for payment will be shortened. The total value of the works currently being carried out on Corridor Vc is more than two billion BAM, Biznis Info reports.
E.Dz.
