Bosnia's Federation, Sarajevo Canton swap ownership of hotel Marsal, Blazuj oil terminal

"So far, we could not invest in Blazuj since it was not property of the Federation. This has been corrected now," the Federation prime minister Fadil Novalic said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Blazuj facility will be used by oil terminal operator Naftni Terminali FBiH (NTF) owned by the Federation. The Federation government is obliged to secure and store three-month stocks of oil and oil derivatives, for which purpose it uses NTF's terminals.

As a result of the deal, NTF can proceed with the planned revamp and construction of the oil terminals in Blazuj and Bihac, northwestern Bosnia, already this year, in order to have oil terminals and reserves that meet European Union requirements by 2023.

NTF runs four above-ground oil terminals - in Blazuj, Zivinice, Mostar and Bihac, with a combined storage capacity of 117,000 cubic metres. They are all in poor condition and need renovation in order to be partially or fully used, the company says on its website.

All of NTF's underground terminals - in Pajtov Han, Misoca, Pokoj, Rastani and Pasci, are devastated and cannot be used at present. They used to have a combined capacity of 83,000 cubic metres.

The transfer of ownership of hotel Marsal to the Sarajevo Canton will allow the cantonal government to proceed with a revamp and expansion of the hotel located in Bjelasnica mountain, southwest of Sarajevo.

Sarajevo Canton is one of ten cantons that form the Federation, one of two autonomous entities that make up Bosnia. The other entity is the Serb Republic.