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EBRD supports Air Traffic safety in Bosnia & Herzegovina
€12 million to help buy high-tech equipment, streamline regulation
The EBRD is lending Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) €12 million to help finance a
new air traffic management programme that will improve safety across the
country and the Balkan region.
The project is to be implemented by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of
Civil Aviation, part of the Ministry of Communication and Transport, and will
assist the Directorate to purchase and install navigational, communications
and meteorological equipment, as well as, help train staff in using the new
equipment and finance consultants to create a new air navigation service
provider that will control the airspace over BiH.
Claudio Viezzoli, EBRD Director for the Western Balkans, said this important
project will help improve air traffic safety in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
surrounding region with the latest high-tech equipment. It will also help the
country meet obligations set by organisations such as the International Civil
Aviation Organisation and the European Union to manage air traffic in a safe
and efficient manner, said Mr Viezzoli.
The EBRD loan marks the latest chapter in strong cooperation between the Bank
and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EBRD has to date provided more than €540
million for public and private sector projects across the state and two
entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina – Republika Srpska and the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Branko Dokic, Minister of Communications and Transport for Bosnia and
Herzegovina, said the EBRD loan will also help Bosnia and Herzegovina to
finally take over complete control of its air space. Currently, 75 per cent of
the charges collected from airline companies for en-route flights through BiH
airspace are paid to service providers in Belgrade and Zagreb. The economic
feasibility of this project is supported by the fact that the loan size equals
an amount that BiH pays in 18 months for air navigation services to other
control centres, said Mr Dokic. The loan will help generate funds to
ultimately benefit BiH, he added.
Under this latest project, the state and entity-level civil aviation
directorates will be transformed into one state regulatory body and one Air
Navigation Service Provider (ANSP).
The U.S. government, under its United States Trade and Development Agency, is
providing €300,000 in grant funds to help prepare the project, while the
European Union is considering providing €500,000.
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