Regarding the construction of the Corridor 5C in the coming year, the Motorways of FB&H are planning works on the construction of the Zenica bypass and on the section Počitelj-Međugorje, said the Director of this enterprise Jasmin Bučo.
Bučo presented five projects at the Corridor 5C to the representatives of Chinese authorities several days ago, in order for the Motorways to get additional sources of financing for further construction. Those are five projects for new 107 kilometers of highway at the sections in the area of Zenica, from Žepče to Dovolj, and the southern part of the Corridor Konjic-Mostar-Buna.
Bučo highlighted that, according to current revenues, the Motorways of FB&H have no space for further indebting, but that it is possible to plan new incomes to the enterprise on the basis of the increase in excise taxes on fuel, thus it is also possible to plan additional indebtedness in the amount of 1.6 billion BAM in the coming years. Bučo stated that another 600 million BAM can be expected from the two European banks, the European Reconstruction and Development Bank (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is why it is necessary to look for new sources of financing and make offers in that sense.
“For comparison, in the past mandate of four years the Motorways of FB&H invested 1.2 billion BAM, of which 840 million BAM were from loans. We know how great step forward was made in that period. With new 1.6 billion BAM we could construct another 85 kilometers of highway and launch the story on rounding up all works on the Corridor 5C. It is difficult to speak about deadlines of realization here, since it depends on several factors, including political will among others. We need another 5.6 billion BAM for the remaining works on the Corridor 5C,” Bučo stated.
Bučo assessed that the current political climate in FB&H is very favorable and that there exists an expressed will by the Government of FB&H for developmental projects and investments.
“It should be clear that in these projects the region is also a competition, in which the transport infrastructure is also desired, due to which it is important to know how to attract investors in the right way. Moreover, apart from the construction of the Corridor 5C, we must not forget about the importance of the construction of Lašva-Travnik speed road, i.e. the speed road for Tuzla,” Bučo said.
In the end, Bučo added that B&H has technical conditions and domestic companies ready to construct the Corridor 5C, but that the key issue is getting the money for the construction.
(Source: faktor.ba)
