EUFOR and Armed Forces of BiH Rebuild Bridge in Zvornik

The Engineering Battalion of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the EUFOR Mobile Training Team from the Hungarian contingent, today began work on assembling the steel structure of a bridge in the settlement of Jasenica in the Zvornik municipality. The reconstruction is jointly financed by the European Union through the Flood Recovery Programme in the amount of 40,000 BAM and the Zvornik municipality with an additional 25,000 BAM. The reconstruction of this bridge, with a span of nearly 16 metres, should be finalised within 10 days, announced the EU Delegation, as reported by the Bosnian news agency Patria.
 
The reconstruction of the bridge in Jasenica is part of broader efforts to restore road infrastructure destroyed in the floods of May 2014 in the Zvornik municipality, which suffered damage amounting to approximately 1.6 million BAM.

- The construction of this bridge will enable access to homes and agricultural farms for 32 directly affected families, and facilitate daily road communication for more than 60 families in the surrounding villages. We are grateful for both the financial assistance provided by the EU and the expert engineering assistance from members of the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR - emphasises Milan Cvjetinović, Head of the Department for Economy, Agriculture and Social Activities of the Zvornik municipality.
  
Since August 2014, the Armed Forces of BiH have intensified their engagement in repairing road communications damaged by floods and landslides, and in rebuilding destroyed bridges, including temporary solutions - the installation of pontoon bridges.
- The aim of such action is to help our fellow citizens in removing the consequences of the natural disaster that has significantly changed their way of life and to contribute to creating normal conditions for their lives and the lives of their children - emphasises Uma Sinanović, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of BiH. 

The reconstruction of the bridge in the settlement of Jasenica is the first of five infrastructure projects that will be jointly implemented by members of the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR within the EU Flood Recovery Programme. These projects are part of the programme component 'communal infrastructure', under which the EU finances the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 100 road and bridge communications, and 10 water supply facilities. A total of 18 projects have been finalised to date, while an additional 38 are underway.
 
- The construction of the bridge in the settlement of Jasenica is a good example of genuine multi-institutional cooperation in the flood recovery process. We all want the bridge to be built in the highest possible quality, and therefore we are pleased that the partners in this project are the military engineers of the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR - says Andy McGuffie, spokesperson for the EU Delegation to BiH and the EU Special Representative.