September 12 (SeeNews) - The EBRD said on Wednesday it is providing a 180 million euro ($209 million) sovereign loan to Bosnia for the construction of three new sections of pan-European Corridor Vc with a total length of some 15.8 km.
The loan will be divided into two tranches, the EBRD said in a statement.
Tranche one, of up to 120 million euro, will co-finance with the European Investment Bank (EIB) the construction of a motorway section from Poprikusa to Nemila and Tunnel Ivan.
Tranche 2 of up to 60 million euro will finance the construction of a motorway section from the Mostar South Interchange to Tunnel Kvanj.
The loan is also expected to be co-financed by an investment grant in the amount of 11.8 million euro from the European Union, through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) which is expected to be approved in December 2018.
The project will expand the existing road infrastructure by constructing new sections of the motorway which will materially improve mobility and enhance traffic safety, EBRD said.
The loan is part of a wider commitment following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in February 2018 between the EBRD and the ministries of transport of Bosnia's entities, the Federation and the Serb Republic, for an investment programme of over 700 million euro for the period 2018-2020.
Corridor Vc is a branch of the fifth Pan-European corridor and with a total length of 700 km will connect Hungary and eastern Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Adriatic Sea.
($=0.861081 euro)