The Bosnia and Herzegovina motorway section will follow a route of roughly 300 kilometres from Bosanski Brod/Bosanski Samac via Doboj, Zenica, Sarajevo, and Mostar, to the Croatian border. After the border it will proceed to Ploce.

The railway route will follow a similar northeast-southwest trajectory, from Strizivojna-Vrpolje in Croatia, and the road-rail network will be connected to the Sava River at Samac, Bosanski/ Slavonski Brod and Brčko.

Corridor Vc will join Bosnia and Herzegovina to one of the main intercontinental trade routes, and

•    make it easier to export goods from this country to other parts of the world;

•    make it possible to develop better links between economic clusters and companies, particularly in terms of tourism, agriculture and industrial regions;

•    facilitate social and cultural interaction; and

•    help to boost local economies along the route.

Initially, through construction work, the project will have a positive impact on job creation. Long-term maintenance and operational requirements will also sustain employment.

However, the project is not a magical elixir that will automatically transform the BiH economy.

It can help to bring about an economic transformation.

But this will only happen if the authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that the project is properly exploited for long-term benefits.

In terms of boosting exports, Corridor Vc will only have the desired effect if related initiatives aimed at increasing the competitiveness of BiH products are put into effect – and this includes establishing efficient certification agencies that will make it possible for BiH producers to take their goods to the European and international market.

It will only boost tourism and agriculture if related initiatives are implemented to standardise legislation across the country and begin coordinated and coherent international marketing.

To achieve the desired impact in local economies a process of consultation must be developed so that communities all along the 300-kilometre route can propose plans that will allow them to exploit the opportunities that Corridor Vc will offer.

One reason that the infrastructure along the existing Corridor Vc route has been able to cope with demand until now is that demand itself has been modest since the war. Corridor Vc will help the BiH economy grow, and, at the same time, it will allow the transport network to cope with this increased growth. It represents, therefore, a virtuous cycle.

Getting this virtuous cycle up and running has been made more difficult since the BiH authorities have not endorsed an overall transport strategy. Because of this, planning and implementation of Vc projects has been inconsistent and patchy.

The BiH Ministry for Communications and Transport coordinates efforts related to Corridor Vc. The Entity ministries responsible for transport and spatial planning approve final designs, and raise and allocate funds. The Entities fund expropriation costs, while permits are issued by the cantons (FBiH) and/or the municipalities.

A total of 500 million Euros has been provided for Corridor Vc through EBRD-EIB loans with an EU contribution of 5.27 million Euros to subsidize the EIB interest rate (NB: 2.5 million Euros of this sum was lost due to delays in the construction of the Sarajevo bypass). Around 180 million Euros of the total 500 million Euros is under implementation.

The European Union is committed to helping the BiH authorities in their efforts to attract funding for Corridor Vc.

Source: http://www.bh-news.com

An official air quality monitoring body warned Friday that Sulfur dioxide pollution in the industrial town of Zenica for the past three days has been three times the European Union limit.

It said the concentration had risen due to unfavorable weather conditions, including the absence of wind that normally disperses the gas.

A representative for the Operational Center for Air Pollution Monitoring, Muhamed Pasic, told The Associated Press that all polluters in the town — including an ArcelorMittal steel mill which is the “greatest polluter” — have been instructed to take measures to reduce SO2 emissions.

SO2 is a pollutant linked to smog and acid rain and is blamed for aggravating asthma and other respiratory difficulties.

About three-quarters of SO2 emissions come from coal-fired power plants, and 20 percent from other industrial facilities.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com

SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina, SeeNews) – Bosnia’s municipal water and wastewater utility Cazin is seeking a 4.0 million euro ($5.2 million) sovereign guaranteed loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to co-finance a wastewater collection and treatment system project, the international lender said on Tuesday.

“Possible co-financing is being considered by several donors including the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Dutch government,” the EBRD said in a statement.

In order to determine the feasibility of the project and to confirm its eligibility for grant funding, a consultant is required to carry out a feasibility study, it said.

The project is aimed to assist Cazin in its sustainable development of wastewater infrastructure. It will also contribute to environmental protection, minimise the risks to public health and improve the quality of drinking water through the implementation of sewage and wastewater treatment infrastructure in the municipality.

The consultancy assignment is expected to start in February 2012 and last for three months. The estimated cost for the assignment is 296,970 euro with value added taxed excluded.

The municipality of Cazin is located in the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Muslim-Croat Federation. It has an estimated population of 70,000.

($ = 0.7742 euro)

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SeeNews

BiH Presidency chairman Nebojsa Radmanovic affirmed that Sarajevo’s top priority remains EU integration and at the same time called for fast government formation at all levels. (Srna, Nezavisne Novine, RTRS, BHRT – 28/02/11)

At the same time a takeover of equipment was done, worth 45.000 KM, Ministry of Security of BiH announced.
Agreement was signed by assistant Minister of Security for protection of secret data Mate Miletic on behalf of Ministry of Security of BiH.
Ambassador of Czech Republic to BiH Tomáš Szunyog also attended signing ceremony and takeover of equipment.
“Tempest equipment will be of great assistance for development of state security organ of BiH, which is one of the main conditions for fulfilling obligations from NATO and EU standards and directives from area of protection of secret data”, assistant Miletic said.
Ambassador Szunyog reminded that equipment donation is a result of long-year cooperation between the Ministry of Security of BiH and State Security Office of Czech Republic within which the agreement between Government of Czech Republic and Council of Ministers of BiH was signed during 2010 on mutual protection and secret data exchange.
“I am happy that Czech Republic once again helped BiH on its path towards membership to NATO and EU, which is one of our foreign policy priorities. This donation will therefore be useful not only for Ministry of Security but for all citizens of BiH”, Ambassador Szunyog pointed out.
(Fena) bdz

EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak said in Sarajevo on Thursday (February 24th) met with leading politicians to discuss the ongoing failure to form a government. Though BiH held regular general elections on October 3rd, there is still neither a government in the Federation of BiH, or a new state-level cabinet due to disagreements among the main Bosniak and Croat parties.
Separately Thursday, High Representative Valentin Inzko also reiterated calls to speed up efforts to form a new government. He was speaking at the opening of a “Parliament for Europe” initiative session held at the EU delegation building in Sarajevo.
In his video address to participants, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said BiH is at a critical crossroad, with one direction pointing to clear political determination regarding the country’s future and the other pointing to disagreement, which would result in BiH lagging behind the rest of the region. (BH-news, Radio Sarajevo, RTRS, OHR website – 24/02/11)

Representatives of the European Movement in BiH in the occasion of farewell visit at the Czech Embassy in Sarajevo met with Ambassador Jiri Kudela, who is leaving our country at the end of this month after a successful mandate.

The organization’s secretary general handed the plaque of the EM “European Friend of BiH 2009” to the Czech Government and the Czech presidency of EU in the period January 1 – June 30 2009.

EM representatives underlined the enormous engagement and support the Czech Republic provided to BiH I EU integrations processes in order for our two countries to improve and strengthen cultural, economic and social relations during Ambassador’s Kudela mandate in BiH.

EM in BiH on behalf of BiH citizens thanked the Czech Republic and Ambassador Kudela for the support of education system, including number of students who study in Prague, Brno and other cities of this friendly country.

Ambassador Kudela during the acceptance of the plaque repeated that the Czech Republic stays a great friend of BiH, as well as partner and a lobbyist for BiH within EU.

He especially underlined the importance for termination of visa regime for BiH citizens, but in order for this to finally happen, domestic politicians would have to invest much more effort.

(Fena)

BiH Commission to preserve national monuments repeated today the opinion that the authorities should design the route of the corridor 5-C through Herzegovina which will not have negative impact on cultural and historical heritage on that area especially on Pocitelj and Blagaj.

BiH Commission to preserve national monuments repeated today the opinion that the authorities should design the route of the corridor 5-C through Herzegovina which will not have negative impact on cultural and historical heritage on that area especially on Pocitelj and Blagaj.

The Commission Chair Amra Hadzimuhamedovic reminded today that this Commission has also earlier warned that the mentioned route on the corridor 5-C envisaged by the concept design significantly endangers cultural and historical heritage and that it should be reexamined.

She explained that, besides Pocitelj and Blagaj as two extremely valuable monuments, larger number of national monuments in BiH as well as 46 archaeological localities would be endangered with the envisaged route.

Hazimuhamedovic said that for the new route, that is the object of dispute at the FBiH Government, it can not be said with certainty that it does not have negative impact on cultural and historical heritage on that area, but it can be said that “in any case it has less negative impact”.

(Fena)

‘Nominal gross domestic product in 2008 was 24.716 million Bosnian marka ($18 million), while the real growth was 5.42 percent,’ agency head Zdenko Milinovic told a news conference.

Bosnia’s central bank had projected a 6 percent economic growth in 2008 but later revised it down to 5.5 percent.

Milinovic said that processing industries and trade were the main contributors to GDP, accounting for 15.1 and 13.6 percent respectively. Public administration and real estate made up 10 and 9.5 percent respectively.

GDP per capita amounted to 6,435 marka, Milinovic said.

Like many other East European countries, Bosnia has been forced to take harsh austerity measures to respond to the global economic downturn.

The International  Monetary Fund (IMF), which this month approved a $1.57 billion stand by deal for the Balkan country, expects a three percent economic contraction this year and zero growth in 2010.

Bosnia is made up of two highly autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat federation, which co-exist under a weak central government.

($1=1.37 Bosnian marka)

”Recommendation of the EC is an utmost form of discrimination against citizens of BiH who posses one and only Bosnian citizenship”, said the letter.

The foundation also stated that after the failed politics of EU during the war in BiH and failure to prevent the genocide over Bosniaks in Srebrenica in July 1995, 14 years later the same EU brings a decision to further isolate BiH.

This open letter in just a few hours was signed by more than 80 civic society organizations form BiH and neighboring countries.