The value of infrastructure projects that Srpska plans to implement jointly with Serbia is around 1.7 billion convertible marks – 870 million euros.
The realization of the projects is planned for this and next year.
According to the words of the economic analyst and executive director of the Association of Economists of the Republic of Srpska SWOT Sasa Grabovac, this is a sum of money, but also capital projects that are extremely important for the further development of Srpska, but also BiH, especially because they come at a time negative economic trends due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The economic benefits will be huge. These are large infrastructure and energy projects, which entail a lot. On that occasion, a significant number of domestic construction companies and contractors will be hired, and all this will then be positively transferred to the increase of taxes and revenues in the budgets,” Grabovac pointed out for Glas Srpske, reports Nezavisne.
One of the projects that should start this year is the construction of the airport in Trebinje, for which the Government of Serbia will allocate around 110 million marks (56 million euros). According to the words of the mayor of Trebinje, Mirko Curic, the first works should start in the coming months. He pointed out that there are still some individuals who do not want it to be realized, because they believe that it is a project that should endanger someone.
“He does not endanger anyone and can only improve the relations between Serbia and Srpska and the entire region,” said Curic, adding that he should be an alternative to the airports in Dubrovnik and Tivat in terms of traffic.
An agreement on cooperation between the public companies “Srbijagas” and “Gas-res” on the construction of the main gas pipeline through the Republic of Srpska was recently signed in Banja Luka. On this occasion, Serbia undertook to provide logistical and professional assistance to this project, but also to build a branch of the gas pipeline to the border with BiH, for which it plans to allocate more than 90 million marks (46 million euros). Serbia, on the other hand, will invest 250 million marks (128 million euros) in this project.
In this way, Serbia would connect to the “Balkan Stream” gas pipeline, and ensure its energy stability in the future, as well as cheaper energy, which could be an additional driver of the domestic economy.
If there are no legal disputes from Sarajevo, a joint project between Srpska and Serbia could start this year, which is related to the construction of three hydroelectric power plants on the Drina River, whose value is estimated at around one billion convertible marks (over 500 million euros).
However, the biggest construction project will be the construction of the Sarajevo-Belgrade-Sarajevo highway, which could cost between four and five billion marks (2.5 billion euros), and will be financed by a loan from Turkey, and it is a joint project of BiH, Serbia and Turkey.
Construction machines should “attack” the first section of this highway in the part that passes through the northeast of Republika Srpska in the spring.
At the end of last year, President Aleksandar Vucic announced that Serbia could invest significant funds in “Banja Luka Airport”, which would greatly help raise the current level of traffic, as well as services, B92 reports.
