The Mayor of Dubrovnik Mato Frankovic sent a letter to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Cabinet of the Chairman of the Council Zoran Tegeltija, on the occasion of the adoption of the Memorandum between the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Government of the Republic of Serbia, ” which was adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH at the session on March 30.
Mayor Frankovic reminded that in addition to the Republic of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are signatories to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary State, the so-called ESPOO Convention as well as the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary State (SEA Protocol).
“The construction of the airport is one of the activities and interventions to which the principles and provisions of the ESPOO Convention and the SEA Protocol apply, and therefore we express dissatisfaction with the current course of activities and the lack of initiative for dialogue with competent authorities on this environmentally important issue,” it is stated.
“Without entering into economic and all other aspects of the construction of the airport on the territory of another state, we appeal and, referring to the provisions of the aforementioned international legislation, demand from the project holder to suspend without delay the planned next activities under this project, conventions and the SEA protocol, ie until all the necessary environmental impact tests are carried out across state borders and until the fact that the construction of the airport would have an impact on the source of the Ombla River is established,” said the Mayor of Dubrovnik Mato Frankovic.
Namely, according to available information, the future airport should be located near the settlement of Taleza in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, only about 8.5 km from the source Ombla, in a highly karst terrain, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.