The project documentation for the construction of the second motorway route from Belgrade to Sarajevo, Pozega – Kotroman, will be completed this year, and works could begin in 2021, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic announced today.
Following a meeting with the Minister of Transport and Communications of BiH, Vojin Mitrovic, in the Government of Serbia, Mihajlovic told reporters that the meeting was very successful and that it was agreed that an operational team would be formed within the next week to deal with joint projects.
She said a contractor had been selected for the joint border crossing at the bridge between Ljubovija and Bratunac and that its construction could be completed by the end of this year or early 2021.
The minister said that she had discussed with her colleague Mitrovic the bridge over the Drina Bridge between Ljubovija and Bratunac, which would be functional once the joint border crossing on the Republika Srpska side was built.
She thanked Minister Mitrovic and Milorad Dodik for making certain decisions and selecting the contractor.
“We have also discussed the reconstruction of 11 more bridges and I believe that we will sign an agreement on that reconstruction very soon. The Serbian government has provided a budget for six bridges that we will jointly reconstruct”, Mihajlovic said.
She was pleased that Minister Mitrovic visited her ministry in Serbia for the first time.
“Infrastructure connects people, and it is important for us to connect our people and for people on both sides of the Drina to have the best possible communication. We have agreed to form an operational group to discuss their first meeting next week and address these important topics”, she said.
Mihajlovic reminded that the works on construction of the highway from Belgrade to Sarajevo in the Kuzmin – Sremska RaCa route have started, and added that the works are proceeding according to the agreed dynamics.
“We discussed the railway connection between Belgrade and Sarajevo, which is also important for us”, the minister said, recalling that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke about this two years ago.
He said that the meeting today talked about potential directions and value of the investment.
Minister Mitrovic said he had come as a minister for his first official visit to Serbia and thanked President Vucic and the Serbian Government for their assistance to Republika Srpska and BiH in the previous period, Tanjug reports.
He added that Serbia has helped the Republika Srpska with almost 30 million euros, which is very important assistance.
“We discussed the construction of the Belgrade – Sarajevo highway and thank President Vucic who accepted that Serbia is financing the construction of the Sava Bridge, which connects two nations and two countries, Serbia and Republika Srpska, and thus BiH”, he said.
Mitrovic said he also talked with Minister Mihajlovic about improving rail traffic.
“I hope that we will have extremely good cooperation, which is why we will form an operational team to monitor these activities. We will give full support to the planned projects to finish as soon as possible”, Mitrovic concluded, Politika reports.
