The director of “Highways of Republika Srpska (RS)”, Dusan Topic, said that, if everything goes as planned, RS should have about 250 kilometers of highways by 2025.
Topic reminded that the highway from Vukosavlje, through Brcko and Bijeljina, to the border with Serbia is defined as a priority in the projects of RS and that it is planned to be realized in few phases.
It is about 70 kilometers long, and the first phase includes the section Brcko – Bijeljina – Raca, as well as the bridge over the Sava near Raca.
Also, Topic reminded that the parceling plan for this section of the highway and gas pipeline was adopted by the National Assembly of the RS at the end of 2019, and about 90 percent of the issues related to the property and legal affairs were finished.
Besides that, the Agreement between the Council of Ministers and the Government of Serbia on cooperation in the construction of the highway, more precisely the fast road Sarajevo – Belgrade – Sarajevo from the same year defined the construction of the bridge on Raca and the joint border crossing on the territory of Serbia.
Topic stated that Serbia is financing the construction of the bridge, which is in progress, and that Turkey is also included in that project.
”Memorandum between the Council of Ministers and the company ‘Tasjapi’ was signed in June, and based on that, the Turkish company submitted a proposal for a commercial contract for the design and construction of the section from Brcko to Raca, which envisages design and construction in two lots – Brcko – Bijeljina, and Bijeljina – Raca. All elements are still in the phase of consideration and it is too early for any kind of statement, ” Topic told.
At the end of last year, a parceling plan for the section from Vukosavlje to Brcko got the “green light”, so the resolution of property and legal affairs began.
Topic noted that an international call for financing, design, and construction of that section of the highway has been published through a competitive dialogue, and further negotiations are underway with the two companies.
”An earlier public call for financing, design, and construction of sections Vukosavlje – Brcko, Brcko – Bijeljina, and Bijeljina -Raca was annulled due to unsatisfactory applications. After actualizing the story with Turkey and more specific steps for the realization of the section Brcko – Bijeljina – Raca, and the expressed intention of Serbia to finance a part of this section, it was left out of the new public call, ” Topic explained, Biznis Info reports.
E.Dz.
