World metropolises are described with various attributes: Paris is the city of light, Rome is the eternal city, Verona is the city of love, and Baghdad was once known as the city of peace. It is less known, but the city of future hides in the center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, surrounded with woods and mountains. Original road sign “Welcome to the city of future” is actually the entrance to the BiH town of Olovo.
It may sound comical or overly ambitious at first, but this message will certainly evoke interest in majority of passersby and they will wonder why Olovo deserves precisely this attribute. For those who decide to make a turn from the main road and stop by in the city of future, several steps are enough to see decorates sidewalks and streets, buildings and houses with new, colorful facades, landscaped parks, reconstructed schools, elegant building of the Municipality, a neat city market.
Olovo has natural resources of an average BiH town: ore, water and woods. Nevertheless, there are rare examples of how small places make a great leap in development such as the case is with Olovo.
The town is inhabited by around 3.000 residents and situation in Olovo today is incomparably better than four years ago. Residents give credits for success in development to the “optimistic mayor” Đemal Memagić, who seems to have set his own goal and goal for citizens with the sign at the entrance to the city.
Memagić is known in BiH as a municipal mayor who works for free. His wage, regress, meal allowance – he gives it all away to students, pupils, for charity purposes. When he promised to people that he will work without any compensation prior to elections in 2012, everyone thought it is a pre-election trick. After he won the term, he ordered the municipal finance service to redirect his entire wage amounting to 2.500 BAM to scholarships for students and pupils. The same situation is today, when his term is almost over. When calculated, it means that 130.000 BAM were given for scholarships during the past four years.
Students and pupils who receive this scholarship say that the scholarship helped them achieve better results and that it is a motivation for them to fight for a better future and stay in Olovo upon the completion of education.
Memagić is a renowned businessman, founder and owner of one of the most famous BiH textile brands “Alma Ras”. The company employs about 1.050 people and is located in Olovske Luke, the business zone of Olovo. This company achieves extraordinary results in domestic and foreign markets and has its production plants in Olovo, Vareš, Srebrenica and Visoko. When the quality of “Alma Ras” products is described, it is often said that this is the Bosnian version of “Victoria’s Secret”.
In the center of Olovo, where rivers Stupčanica and Bioštica meet to form the Krivaja River, there is a centuries-old source of healing thermal water. The water is used in the Public Health Institution and Spa and recreational Center “Aquaterm”.
Memagić presented the plan to turn the spa complex into a hotel wit pools. The pool complex will cover 3.444 square meters and it will consist of an indoor and outdoor pool, wellness and fitness centers, restaurants and other amenities.
Director of “Aquaterm” Senad Selimović said that this institution with 37.000 units last year achieved a record number of visits in its history.
“Our patients are suffering from chronic diseases, rheumatism, joint diseases and spine diseases. Many of them come back because they have recognized the quality of our service and healing properties of our thermal water,” Selimović said. Only in the past two years around one million BAM were invested in the facility and equipment and the number of employees was increased by 14, which is not a small number for a small community such as Olovo.
Selimović said that the pool complex will create opportunities for new investment and new workplaces in the Municipality of Olovo which has around 10.000 residents. Works on the expansion of this facility should begin in summer. This 2.8 million BAM worth investment shows the intention of the Municipality to take advantage of the chance for the development of spa tourism.
As a contribution to the development of tourism, the Municipality also built the picnic site “Zeleni vir”. It is located near the Bioštica River, two-three kilometers away from the center of Olovo. This is the favorite weekend destination for picnic and bathing for residents of Olovo, but also a place where those who travel on the route Sarajevo-Tuzla can make a break and relax. The newly constructed Sports and Recreational Center “Ajdinovići” is also an attraction.
Although Olovo suffered extensive damage during the floods in 2014, it has completely recovered since then.
International Group “Mineco” is preparing the opening of a lead mine and that investment is worth ten million dollars. Mayor Memagić stated that this means new 250 workplaces.
(Source: akta.ba/photo tripmondo.com)
