Hadžić without confirmation, but believes the Adriatic-Ionian road will pass through BiH

Damir Hadžić, Minister of Transport and Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not only supports the passage of the Adriatic-Ionian road through Trebinje and near Počitelj, whose construction should begin in 2020, but believes that the passage of this road through BiH is the only correct solution for this project, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

Instead of via Dubrovnik, the highway will most likely connect Montenegro and Albania with Western Europe through Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is claimed by sources from Croatian government circles, who also point out that a preliminary decision on this has actually already been made, Croatian media reported yesterday.

Part of the Adriatic-Ionian highway on the southern Adriatic will be built as a continuation of the A1 road, but most likely not via Neum and Dubrovnik, as originally envisioned, but via Počitelj and Trebinje, from where it will continue towards Montenegro and Albania, Croatian media claim.

The prime ministers of the region's countries will present a proposal at a conference in Berlin on August 28 this year to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the creation of a special fund from which, by 2020, the preparation of project documentation for sections of the Adriatic-Ionian highway in BiH, Montenegro, and Albania would be financed. The construction itself could be completed by 2030.

If this agreement is indeed realized, experts believe that in BiH it would not only open thousands of jobs for Bosnian construction workers, but would also mean an increase in the country's GDP, stronger connectivity of BiH with the EU, and stronger and faster economic development in the entire region, especially between Albania, BiH, Montenegro, and Croatia.

Although there is no official confirmation that agreements have been reached and that the Adriatic-Ionian road will be built through Trebinje and Počitelj, Minister Hadžić deeply believes in the correctness of such thinking.

- The issue of the Pelješac Bridge, the Neum hinterland, the tunnel under Neum are things that can be discussed, but the only correct solution for this region is the Adriatic-Ionian road, which will have its loop or junction near Počitelj, continue through Herzegovina, enter Montenegro, and further continue towards the southeast of the Balkans - said Hadžić for the Patria news agency.

- Anyone in BiH who would in any way try to stop the construction of this road through our country would not only be working against BiH, but would directly be working against themselves - said Hadžić, writes NAP.