Bosnia and Herzegovina still has the fewest kilometers of highway in this part of Europe, although the construction of the Corridor Vc route through Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the largest infrastructure projects. Construction sites are welcome, but they are not the headache that is often experienced by residents of settlements along the future route. A concrete example is the residents of Stara Stanica Nemila near Zenica, who were left without a supply of drinking water due to the construction of the tunnel. For three months, tankers have been bringing them water they cannot live without, and they are increasingly impatient and are appealing to the authorities not to make their lives difficult while they wait for the implementation of investments that will bring us closer to Europe.
Three months without a drop of drinking water – this is the everyday life of the residents of Stara Stanica in Nemila. Due to the construction of the tunnel on the Nemila – Vranduk section, the future route of the Corridor Vc, around sixty households are now at risk.
“The water disappeared when work began in the tunnel behind the settlement and when drilling and blasting began. That’s when we were left without water,” says resident Edin Mujkanović.
“Our two workers down in the tunnel say that enormous amounts of water are coming into the tunnel. That water is thrown into Bosnia and is not used. It is our water,” adds local resident Kenan Telalović.
Currently, they are looking for salvation in the cistern that brings them water – insufficient for basic hygiene needs.
“In the morning we wait for the tankers to come, at three o’clock the water is released, and then within an hour or two, sometimes it lasts only half an hour,” says local Advija Telalović.
As they say, they sought a solution from the local community and the Zenica City Administration, however, the locals believe that they are left to their own devices. They see the authorities who signed the contracts as the main culprits:
“Highways, the mayor and all those who are in charge and signed – they need to do something,” says Telalović.
“If it was an election year, they would probably gather here to help us. Since it’s not an election year, most of them raised their hands,” says Mujkanović.
In the friendly environment agreement signed two years ago between the City of Zenica, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Motorway and the contractors, especially on the sections from Nemila to Vranduk, the investors have committed to regularly measuring the yield of the sources from which the settlements are supplied. And while they wait every day for the arrival of a tanker with drinking water, the locals are also hoping for the final solution that was promised to them.
“As a permanent solution, at the initiative of the Nemila Local Community, the capture of an additional 2-3 sources of drinking water near the existing reservoir has been initiated. The necessary pipes have been purchased, construction operations have been ensured and access to the locations has been cleared. The works are ongoing, and our goal is to ensure stable and long-term access to drinking water for all residents of the settlement,” the FBiH Motorway states.
The City of Zenica states that they have found a solution with the investors and that the deadline for completion of the works is one month.
“The Service for Water Management, Road Infrastructure and Local Communities held a new meeting with representatives of JP Autoceste, the contractor and the local water board, at which we were informed that the work on a permanent solution to the water supply problem began on Saturday, August 2, 2025, and that the planned deadline for completion of the work is 30 days. During that period, the contractor will continue to deliver drinking water to the settlement of Stara Stanica,” the City of Zenica announced.
The construction of the largest infrastructure project in the country has been ongoing for years, but the completion of the work has not yet been monitored. Construction is underway, but slowly, especially on the route from Zenica to Žepče, and further to the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so it is almost unbelievable to expect that the deadlines will be met by the end of next year.
At the same time, we are witnesses, the residents of the surrounding settlements are suffering the consequences, just like the residents of Stara Stanica Nemila. If the promised deadlines are postponed again, they are ready to take more radical steps, because they believe they deserve what they had even before the work began – water and the right to basic hygiene needs.
