By Bojana Vlajcic

The European Union (EU) is stepping up its support for Corridor VC, the key transport infrastructure project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with additional grant funding of €45.2 million(US$47.7million).

The funds will go towards ongoing construction work on two motorway sections financed with loans by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD): €36 million to the Poprikuše-Nemila section (financed with a €70 million EBRD loan and a €90 million European Investment Bank (EIB) loan) and €9.2 million to the Ivan Tunnel (financed with a €50 million EBRD loan).

Corridor Vc is a pan-European transport project. The section in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is 325 kilometres long, will cross the country from north to south, eventually connecting the Adriatic port of Ploče in Croatia with the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

The motorway, which will bring Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the EU, is primarily co-financed by loans from the EBRD and European Investment Bank (EIB) and grant resources form the EU. To date, the EBRD has provided the project with loans worth €850 million from its own resources, while investment and technical assistance grants extended by the EU have totalled more than €223 million (for EBRD financed sections).

The signing of the grant agreements today was attended by representatives of the EBRD, the EU and the Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vjekoslav Bevanda.

EBRD Head of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Manuela Naessl said: “Together with our European partners, we are pleased to continue to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in building modern transport infrastructure, which will connect it more closely to the people and trading partners of the EU.”

Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Ambassador Johann Sattler said: “Corridor Vc is one of the flagship projects in the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans designed to encourage long-term economic recovery, sustainable growth and jobs, and economic integration in the region. BiH needs to further accelerate works on Corridor Vc. To that end the European Union is granting more than half a billion euros through the WBIF to facilitate its completion.”

Minister of Finance and Treasury Vjekoslav Bevanda said: “Today’s signing of these two contracts provided about €45 million euros in grants, which is of immeasurable importance in total investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project grants are provided by the European Union and the EBRD will manage the grants. On behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I would like to thank Ambassador Sattler for this great and important EU financial support.”

The grant funds have been secured through the EU-supported Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), which aims to improve the region’s connectivity by building new transport links and upgrading outdated transport and environmental infrastructure. Other co-financiers of Corridor Vc include the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) and the Kuwait Fund.

The development of Corridor Vc is a strategic priority for Bosnia and Herzegovina and is expected to contribute to faster economic and social development.