December 27 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Wednesday it is providing a 70 million euro ($83.3 million) loan for the expansion of the motorway infrastructure in Bosnia to strengthen the country’s integration and connectivity with the European Union.
The sovereign guaranteed loan to the motorway company of Bosnia's Serb Republic entity, Autoputevi Republike Srpske, will finance the construction of a new section of the key Corridor Vc motorway between Johovac and Rudanka and two interchanges, the EBRD said in a statement.
The Serb Republic is one of the two constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other is the Federation.
"The EU is considering co-financing the project with an investment grant of 15.3 million euro extended through the Western Balkans Investment Framework," the bank said.
Corridor Vc is the main international transport corridor in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its development is a strategic priority for the country. The road is part of the Western Balkans Core Network. It has been established as an extension of the Trans-European Transport Networks and will eventually link the Hungarian capital Budapest with the Croatian port of Ploce.
"Following the approval of the fuel excise levy by the state parliament last week we are very pleased to be moving ahead immediately with the commitment of 70 million euro of new funds from the EBRD for the first section of the Corridor Vc project in the Serb Republic. This will create jobs and stimulate economic growth," Ian Brown, EBRD head of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in the statement.
Earlier this month, Bosnia’s parliament adopted an increase in the excise duty on fuels, key to unlocking large externally-financed infrastructure investments.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than 2 billion euro in Bosnia and Herzegovina in almost 150 projects.
($=0.840288 euro)