More than ten years ago, the Sarajevo-Belgrade motorway was pompously announced as a strategic interest for our country and Serbia. That it truly is so is confirmed by the profession as well. However, unlike Serbia, which is carrying out its activities on the ground, the Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) side, as usual, remains divided over the route, and instead of experts, politics has the final say.
Along with speeches and promises, and as cameras recorded it, six years ago, the foundation stone was laid for the Sarajevo-Belgrade motorway, symbolically named the “road of peace and friendship”.
133 bridges and 53 tunnels in BiH
“The moment of building something that leads the entire region toward peace, stability, prosperity, and development,” said Sefik Dzaferovic, then a member of the Presidency of BiH (SDA).
However, progress on the ground is almost invisible. On the BiH side, as many as 133 bridges and 53 tunnels need to be built, but for years, the debate has been ongoing. Only in 2022 were two routes agreed upon: one via Tuzla and Bijeljina from Belgrade, and the other via Pale, Rogatica, and Visegrad. Most projects are still in the phase of conceptual designs and studies, and therefore, the answer to a parliamentary question is far from encouraging.
“Currently, 18 kilometres of the first section of the Sremska Raca-Kuzmin motorway are under construction. Upon completion of these activities, the conditions will be created for this section to be opened to traffic at the same time when BiH builds the first section of this motorway from Bijeljina to Raca, which is planned by the end of 2025. At present, the main obstacle is the spatial plan of the Brcko District of BiH, and it is expected that this issue will be resolved,” the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH replied.
“Something has been done through Serbia, almost nothing through BiH. We are still in the phase of harmonising routes, spatial planning documentation, and conceptual projects,” says Nermin Mandra, SDA Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PABiH).
Forto: The route must be planned rationally
While routes are still being debated in BiH, construction is underway across the Drina. Construction sites have been opened on two sections: Pozega-Kotroman and Sremska Raca-Kuzmin. According to the latest announcements, the entire section up to the state border will be completed by the summer of next year.
“The ‘Brodac’ interchange is located seven kilometres from the newly built bridge at Raca, and in the coming period, activities on this section of the motorway will be intensified so that the road can be built by mid-next year, when Serbia also plans to open the Kuzmin-Sremska Raca motorway section,” stated Republika Srpska (RS) Motorways.
The story of the motorway was reopened a few months ago by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. He clearly pointed out where implementation is stalling:
“We have no problem with RS, we are building to Bijeljina and the motorway will go to Banja Luka as well, but what we wanted was via Visegrad. Well, whether it will go to Gorazde, let it go to Gorazde, let it go wherever it wants, it must go via Pale, whether via Praca or Rogatica, that is now the question. But it never will, precisely because they say there is no profitability.”
And from BiH, a quick response came from the competent minister. The message: the route cannot be a matter of political preference, but of rational planning.
“The route of the future Sarajevo-Belgrade motorway must go through Tuzla and the Brcko District. This is not a matter of emotions, but of rational planning in the interest of all citizens of BiH. Tuzla Canton (TC) and the Brcko District are populous regions with a strong industrial base. Continued isolation of Tuzla and Brcko is not an option,” said Edin Forto, Minister of Communications and Transport of BiH (NS).
Experts point out the geostrategic importance of the route
Experts in both BiH and Serbia nevertheless speak with one voice. For them, this road is a geostrategic and transport necessity for the region.
“Both routes are equally important and form a geostrategic connection between Corridors 5, 10, and 7. In this way, we would come into a position to have a circular flow and make that Adriatic-Ionian area important and connected with the Mediterranean and the Black Sea countries,” says Mehmed Konakovic, an expert in traffic, transport, and energy at the Center for Advanced Technologies Sarajevo.
“It shortens travel time, and on the other hand makes travel easier, unlike main roads, whether they are state roads, regional routes, international or local,” emphasizes Milan Bozovic, a traffic safety expert with Serbia’s Committee for Traffic Safety.
On one side of the Drina, the idea is already taking shape. On the other hand, it is still being weighed, measured, revised, and negotiated. In this gap lies the Balkan truth: that even when everyone knows the right path, agreement remains the slowest part of the journey.
Photo: archive
