Minister of Communications and Transport in the Council of Ministers Vojin Mitrovic announced that on Friday, July 29th, the construction of a new bridge on the Sava near Gradiska, which is of exceptional economic importance for Republika Srpska (RS) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), will be officially completed.
Mitrovic told agency Srna that the bridge will be operational in a year and a half, i.e. the moment the access roads in Croatia are completed.
“This project is extremely important first of all for RS, and then for BiH as well. With it, Lijevce polje, Gradiska and that area will get a new dimension,“ said Mitrovic and added that it will connect them with the European Union (EU).
He added that a large throughput will be achieved through this bridge, and traffic from Gradiska, which has been a real problem for the past 20 or 30 years, will be relocated.
“With the realization of this project, we will connect with Corridor 10, that is, the approach to the EU on the one hand, and with Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania,” said Mitrovic.
Speaking about the economic importance of this bridge, Mitrovic said that costs will be simplified, accelerated and reduced for carriers, but also for all businessmen in BiH and Croatia, and people will be more satisfied, because they will not have to wait at the border crossing, sometimes for 10 or 15 hours.
“When this border crossing is fully operational, it will be a first-class border crossing, which means that all goods that are subject to all inspections will be able to pass, as well as passenger traffic, which will be passable, given the highway on both sides sides,” Mitrovic pointed out.
The construction of the bridge began in September 2019, and was completed at the end of May this year. The estimated value of the construction of the bridge on the Sava River is EUR 19.54 million, and a grant of EUR 6.8 million from the European Commission was approved for this project through the Investment Framework for the Western Balkans.
The Minister of Communications and Transport in the Council of Ministers also thanked the EU, which recognized the importance of such a project, Biznis Info writes.
