CEE Bankwatch urges EU action on Bosnia motorway project

The proposed section south of Mostar, cutting through agricultural land and villages with growing small-scale tourism, poses a threat to many residents who have already rebuilt their lives from scratch after the war, as they now face potential expropriation, loss of income, or ill health, CEE Bankwatch said in a report.

Alternative routes are available, including one on the nearby Podvelezje plateau, CEE Bankwatch added.

The report also examines the Corridor Vc section from Kojnic to Mostar, which includes a 10-kilometre tunnel through the Prenj mountain. The routing, which was adopted without public consultations, would cause problems like noise and pollution for the citizens of the Podgorani village and threatens the Bijela valley, nominated for protection under the Bern Convention, according to CEE Bankwatch.

The total cost of the Corridor Vc motorway in Bosnia has reached 4.5 billion euro ($4.9 billion) and is set to rise by at least another 600,000 euro if the ten-kilometre Prenj tunnel is built, according to the report. The motorway has received more than 3 billion euro in loans and grants from the European Union’s Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), it adds.

Corridor Vc has a total length of 700 km and connects the port of Ploce in Croatia with Budapest in Hungary, stretching some 340 km across Bosnia.

($ = 0.923 euro)