Corridor Vc

Project Description

The EBRD has approved a EUR180 million sovereign loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the construction of new priority motorway sections of the main north-south road through Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), known as Corridor Vc, namely:

• Zenica to Kakanj section (length = 15.2 km);
• Vlakovo to Tarčin section (length = 18.9 km);
• Pocitelj to Southern Border with Croatia (length = 21.4 km).
• Odzak to Norther Border with Croatia (length = 10.9 km).

Parallel financing is being considered by the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’).

The objective is to support the development of the motorway network in BiH and to provide support for the institutional strengthening of the Motorway Directorate in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina including assistance to develop a public private partnership (PPP) scheme for remaining sections.

Transition Impact

The project will facilitate transition in the following ways:

• Supporting transformation of FBHMD from a department within the ministry into a separate legal entity including development of a corporate plan and appropriate management information systems.
   
• Assisting the authorities and the FBHMD with development of a strategy for public private partnership scheme towards construction of the remaining motorway sections in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
   
• Introduction of fuel levy for motorways development and physical tolls to foster financial independence of the sector.

 

The Client

The State of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“FBH”), one of the two Entities comprising the State, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Motorway Directorate (FBHMD).

EBRD Finance

EUR 180 million. Sovereign Loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina, with on lending to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The project will be co-financed with the EIB.

Project Cost

EUR 605 million.

Environmental Impact

The project was screened A/0.

The project is likely to be associated with significant environmental issues. EIA’s have prepared and are publicly available for all four LOTS and are compliant with the BiH Law on Environment (No: 33/03).

A gap analysis undertaken on EIAs and consultation carried out to date against EBRD's requirements identified the following issues:

Although the EIA's had already been publicly disclosed EBRD required that a number of additional documents be provided in the public domain so as to meet the Bank’s requirements for assessing, mitigating and/or compensating for environmental and social impacts of the project. These included:

Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan (PCDP)
EBRD requires that public consultation activities, including EBRD’s specific public consultation and disclosure requirements for A-category projects, are defined within a plan. A Public Consultation & Disclosure Plan (PCDP) was prepared and disclosed for the Project in May 2008 and includes a section on the plan for future information disclosure and communication with stakeholders during the construction and operation phases of the project (including the public release of an environmental and safety report annually) as well as methods of dialogue handling of comments and concerns.

Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement Plan
EBRD requires that people and businesses that are displaced (physically or economically) by a project receive benefits from it. The Project is seeking to avoid displacement wherever possible and there were good examples provided to support that approach. EBRD required that a resettlement framework be developed and applied to the whole Corridor (on the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and resettlement action plans developed for the Project. The Resettlement Framework and Resettlement Action plans will be made publicly available.

Non-Technical ESIA Summary for the whole Corridor Route
An overarching Executive Summary for the whole Corridor Vc has been prepared and disclosed at the request of EBRD, which is posted on the Banks website with the web links to ALL four EIA’s.

Corridor Vc Site Selection
EBRD recognises that the route for the corridor for a major motorway through BiH has been established in a process that begun in the late 70’s. To meet EBRD policy requirements for public consultation on site selection the Bank will require evidence to support that public consultation on the site selection was carried out in full compliance with the law and a description of how the public was involved in the site selection.
Mitigation measures associated with the project are provided within the EIAs and will also be included within the RAP.

There is an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment available for this project.

Technical Cooperation

Technical co-operation funds have been sought from the Western Balkans Fund for assistance to the FBHMD with transformation into an independent corporate entity.

Additional funds have been sought from the Central European Initiative for preparation of the Resettlement Framework for the Project.

 

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