EBRD announces EU funding for Bosnia and Herzegovina motorway

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that the European Union (EU) has provided €20.70m ($24.70m) for building the Corridor Vc motorway in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Corridor Vc will span across the country between its north and south borders with Croatia. The 325km motorway is estimated to cost around €3.7bn ($4.43bn).

The project is expected to facilitate faster economic and social development.

The EU provided the grant under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), which it supports. The WBIF focuses on improving the region’s connectivity by building new transport links and upgrading outdated transport and environmental infrastructure.

Of the total grant, €15.50m ($18.50m) will fund construction works, with the remaining amount used to finance technical assistance.

The funding will be used for completing construction works on two sections ‒ the Buna-Pocitelj subsection and the Zenica-Donja Gracanica tunnel.

The EU grant will complement an €80m ($95.71m) loan previously offered by the EBRD for building the two sections. The EBRD has so far invested €844m ($1.01bn) for building Corridor Vc, with the EU providing more than €145m ($173.47m) to co-finance for the same sections.

EBRD Bosnia and Herzegovina head Manuela Naessl said: “We would like to thank the EU, our key partner in this project, for this new financing.

“Large-scale infrastructure investments such as Corridor Vc require significant investments and EU grants are important in making them affordable.

“We are encouraged by the progress of the construction process and we look forward to celebrating the completion of work on both sections later this year.”

The EU is one of the largest financial contributors to the Corridor Vc project, alongside the EBRD and European Investment Bank (EIB). Other co-financiers include the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) and the Kuwait Fund.