Secessionism in RS blocks the repair of the most dangerous road in BiH

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Many times the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have failed the test and unfulfilled promises. One of the more illustrative examples is the main road Foča - Šćepan Polje, which connects BiH with Montenegro.

The future of this project currently lies with the authorities in RS, whose separatism has halted EU aid worth 125 million euros.

"The authorities have not met the conditions," they said from Brussels.

Milorad Dodik recently spoke about this, saying that there are political conditions.

"Šćepan Polje - Foča is in our plans, but I want to say here that these funds are credit funds and that the loan should be taken by the Republika Srpska and repaid, while they have political conditions. I would like this project to be realized, and if it is not, we will sit down and see how we will solve our part of the road Šćepan Polje - Foča," said Milorad Dodik, a member of the BiH Presidency.

The European Union financed the development of the main project back in 2011. Since then, politicians have sporadically announced rapid construction.

"Montenegro responded to our request and gave us a contact point for the Foča - Šćepan Polje road, so we will work on that road quickly as well," stated Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of the RS Government.

What is fast in BiH, citizens witness daily. The stepmotherly attitude of the authorities towards the east is best seen on the road network, says MP in the NSRS Nebojša Vukanović.

"It is unbelievable that in the 21st century, two states, two capitals Sarajevo and Podgorica, Republika Srpska and Montenegro and BiH are connected by a gravel road. Five years ago, we had a situation where a bus overturned, young female students died, they have been promising to solve it for seven to eight years, they have done nothing," emphasized Vukanović.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications has prepared a decision allocating part of the funds paid from mobile operator licenses, specifically the part intended for transport development, to finance the construction of a section of the interstate bridge over the Tara River. The decision awaits review and adoption by the Council of Ministers of BiH.

The second component of the project is under the jurisdiction of the Republika Srpska. It involves the construction of 20 kilometers of road to Foča. Preparations for the start of expropriation of properties are underway, they say in the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The Ministry states that it is still necessary to develop planning and technical documentation, and that the assessment of the project implementation start date depends on resolving property relations and securing funds.