Terzić: In 7-8 years Bosnia and Herzegovina can have a highway

The guest of the N1 television show Dan uživo was the new director of the Public Company Motorways of FBiH, Adnan Terzić. At the beginning, he pointed out that Bosnia and Herzegovina has not come far in meeting its highway construction needs, but emphasized that it is good to have what has been achieved so far.

When asked when new kilometers of highway can be expected and on which section, Terzić said that new sections cannot be expected soon, that is, not next year except for the Svilaj - Odžak part, because the embankment has already been built there, and the basic part of the road will start at the beginning of next year, and it is about 10 kilometers of highway.

"The rest is stalled for various reasons. Political, financial, objective reasons, but there is also a lack of work. Recently, it is clear that the leaders of the parliamentary majority and the Government of FBiH have clear and precise instructions on what they want and at what speed. It remains for us to organize ourselves, activate a bit more and do what is expected. I believe we have enough intelligence, resources and expertise within the company and that we will have the support of others, because Motorways are not a deserted island but depend on others," said Terzić.

This government claims that excise duties on fuel are necessary to finance the continuation of highway construction. The opposition claims that they did this in the previous term without additional burden on citizens.

"Excise duties, if we want stable planning for the completion of Corridor Vc, are necessary but they are not the only source of revenue. There are several sources that need to be seriously negotiated and analyzed, so excise duties may not even be necessary. I do not think it is a big burden for citizens, if the funds go towards building infrastructure that ultimately benefits citizens," said the director of the Public Company Motorways.

In the Letter of Intent to the IMF, the authorities in BiH gave a promise to adopt the Proposal for the Law on Amendments to the Law on Excise Duties by the end of 2016. The ruling coalition in BiH recently confirmed that a high degree of agreement on excise duties has been reached.

"It is evident that the representatives of the parliamentary majority at the state level have agreed, so at the next session we expect a date for the adoption of this law," emphasized Terzić.

He added that the legal regulations are on the side of citizens when it comes to expropriation.

"The Public Company Motorways strives to be a company that cares about citizens, especially those who need to undergo expropriation. These are individual destinies that are painful, but we try to ensure that compensation is timely and adequate."

The expropriation process in some parts is moving very slowly.

"It depends on the municipality. For the third lot in Zenica, 90 percent of the expropriation has been completed because everyone reacted very quickly. Now we have to go to municipalities where this process is slow, for example the Počitelj - Buna lot, to speed things up because people rightly ask why the expropriation process is slow," Terzić replied.

What is happening with the southern section? Đenan Salčin, Terzić's predecessor as director of the Public Company Motorways, pointed out on several occasions the disputed tender for lot 1 and lot 2 on the Počitelj – Zvirovići road section. Complaints were filed by Hering, and a commission was formed to review the tender procedure.

"Honestly, a mess was made. In the last six months, we behaved as if this were the last facility being built on Corridor Vc, but it is only 10 percent of what remains to be built. I think the mess must be fixed. It is problematic that we created a mess with the most important financier, the EBRD. They have now launched an internal review. We said that everything should be investigated, but quickly, because if we encounter a serious delay, all other projects would be jeopardized," stated the guest on N1 television.

Finally, Terzić was asked the eternal question – with this pace and the numerous problems that constantly arise, when does he predict that BiH will complete the Corridor, i.e., the highway.

"Coming to the show, I prayed to God that you wouldn't ask me that, and for everything else I had answers. That is something that no serious person can say at this moment. When the Prenj tunnel, which is the most demanding facility, starts being built, its construction will take five years. We can say that it is about 7-8 years until completion if everyone accepts the plan we will offer in the next 10-15 days. If everyone sticks to it, we have a chance to reach the Corridor quickly," Terzić concluded.