Olovo, a small town on the main road Sarajevo – Tuzla, is the second town in the FB&H by the growth of the employment rate. How natural resources are exploited for the development of the local community?
The existing potentials are production of raw materials, while the number of unemployed has been steadily falling.
Besides the wood processing industry, which has previously been carrier of the development, there are talks about hydro potential as well. Two projects are currently in the implementation phase.
17 years ago, company Alma Ras started to work in Olovo, which took primacy in the textile industry with 1050 employees and by expansion of production facilities all across the country.
Their products are increasingly popular on the foreign market, in Austria, Germany and Italy.
“Our intentions are to hire additional 150 workers in 2016, and we are planning to expand our brand abroad. There is already an offer from Serbia,” said Almas Memagic, CEO of Alma Ras.
Lead, the ore after which this town was named, is a resource from which not only the local community but the entity as well should benefit next year. The plan is to open the first underground metal mine in the FB&H.
“So far we have invested about 2 million USD – in the concession fees, infrastructure, salaries – and a total of 10 million BAM is planned,” said Ismar Sabovic, General Manager of Geomet Ltd.
The opening of the mine is a chance for employment of about 250 people and another form of filling of the municipal budget by concessions.
(Source: federalna.ba)
