Agreement signed on financing landslide remediation at Curine njive

(Patria) - The Minister of Communal Economy, Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection of Sarajevo Canton (KS) Mladen Pandurević today signed an agreement on financing the project "Works on landslide remediation at the Curine njive site - Istočni Stari Grad" with the Mayor of Stari Grad Municipality Irfan Čengić and the Director of the KS Construction Institute Belma Barlov.

The landslide remediation project was prepared by the Institute of Geotechnics and Geology at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Sarajevo, and its implementation aims to improve terrain safety and reduce the risk of further landslide processes.

For the implementation of the project, 600,000 KM has been secured in the Sarajevo Canton budget for 2025, while the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo has provided an additional 150,000 KM.

After signing the agreement, the Municipality of Stari Grad is obliged to conclude a separate agreement with the Municipality of Istočni Stari Grad, which is responsible for conducting the public procurement procedure and selecting the contractor, in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement of BiH.

A Project Implementation Monitoring Team will also be formed, which will include representatives of the municipalities, the Ministry, the KS Construction Institute, and the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Sarajevo.

- We are talking about the safety of people and the protection of property of the citizens of Sarajevo Canton. Landslides have been triggered in the territory of the entity of Rs, and the damage to the health and property of people in the Federation of BiH can be serious.

This is one of the rare situations where we are acting preventively, before disasters like those in Jablanica, Buturović Polje, and Kiseljak occur. Not only as a minister, but also as the commander of the Cantonal Civil Protection Headquarters, I am monitoring the situation and am aware of the seriousness of the possible consequences.

Bearing all this in mind, through internal redistribution within the Ministry, we have secured 600,000 KM for the implementation of this project, and an additional million KM can be secured by adopting the law that was approved by the KS Government and will be on the agenda of the KS Assembly on December 29, 2025.

This law will enable the use of funds collected from fees for the legalization of illegally constructed buildings, which until now could not be used for interventions outside of KS. One of the purposes of these funds is landslide remediation - said Minister Pandurević.

He added that the involvement of other municipalities from KS is planned, as well as the support of the Government of the Federation of BiH.

Mayor Čengić said that the works have started and that the Municipality of Istočni Stari Grad has completed the public procurement procedure.

- The entire landslide is located in Rs, but about ten percent of the works cover the part in FBiH, in order to accept water from future drainage. The support from the KS Government is 600,000 KM, and if the KS Assembly adopts the law amendments, this support will be even greater.

The works are being carried out in phases, in accordance with weather conditions and expert recommendations. This is a specific situation because the landslide is located on the entity line, but life cannot stop at the entity border. We are grateful to the KS Government for their concrete support and expect the involvement of other competent authorities, primarily the future president of the entity of Rs and the mayor of Istočno Sarajevo - stated Čengić.

The Director of the KS Construction Institute, Belma Barlov, stated that, given that the landslide is located in the territory of Rs, the Institute went to the site with its engineers and determined what the issue was.

The main project has been completed, and the Institute will participate in the work of the Project Implementation Monitoring Team, while the KS budget inspectorate will monitor the flow of funds.

The signing of the agreement was also attended by the Mayor of Istočni Stari Grad Municipality, Bojo Gašanović, who emphasized that the project was challenging from the very beginning, but that all administrative obstacles were successfully overcome thanks to the good cooperation of the competent institutions.

A contractor and supervisor have been selected, the project has been revised, and a building permit has been obtained. The works will be monitored according to the possibilities on the ground, and the complete implementation of the project is planned by the summer of 2026.

The implementation of this project ensures a professional and systematic solution to the landslide problem at the Curine njive site, which contributes to increasing the safety of the population and protecting the area.

The KS Government remains fully committed to solving the landslide problem and protecting the population, and continuously supports preventive measures that ensure the safety of citizens and the protection of property.