Council of Ministers of BiH supports borrowing for construction of the first and ninth transversal in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Council of Ministers of BiH at today's session accepted individual initiatives and appointed delegations to lead negotiations for concluding loan agreements between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the implementation of two city road projects in Sarajevo, namely transversal I and IX.

The implementation of these projects will improve traffic flow in Sarajevo Canton. For the construction of part of transversal I, specifically the Bare – Kobilja Glava tunnel section, the EBRD loan amounts to 35 million euros, the Council of Ministers of BiH announced.

The construction of this section will improve traffic conditions on the Sarajevo – Vogošća route, where congestion, traffic jams, and time losses are a daily occurrence.

For the transversal IX project, the value of the EBRD loan is three million euros, and the funds are intended for the construction of sub-sections III Rondo – Safeta Zajke Street, together with the connection of the IX transversal with LOT 2C of the Sarajevo bypass. The loan repayment periods are 15 years, including a three-year grace period, and the end user of the funds is Sarajevo Canton.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury will, after the completion of negotiations, submit draft agreements to the Council of Ministers of BiH in accordance with the Law on Borrowing, Debt and Guarantees of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Council of Ministers of BiH also established a Draft Memorandum of Understanding on business arrangements between the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Transport Forum (OECD/ITF), aimed at improving road safety, whereby the Ministry of Communications and Transport will gain the possibility of online access and use of information from the international database on road traffic and accidents. Thus, BiH will become a participant in the IRTAD (International Traffic Safety Data Analysis) project and will have its representative in the working group. This is a unique forum for the exchange of international developments in road safety policies, including data on accidents and victims.

Since January 2018, IRTAD has had 89 members from 40 countries, with full members including the European Commission and the World Bank. The draft memorandum will be submitted to the Presidency of BiH, and the Deputy Minister of Communications and Transport has been proposed as the signatory for BiH.

The Council of Ministers of BiH took note of the Information on the situation in the field of migration regarding the increased influx of migrants into BiH and initiated the conclusion of an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on strengthening cooperation in this area. Strengthening the eastern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a priority of the Council of Ministers of BiH, and activities are underway regarding the additional engagement of 100 police officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska who will provide assistance to the Border Police of BiH. Discussions will also be held with representatives of other police bodies and agencies on providing assistance in controlling the border of BiH.

The Ministry of Security has sent letters to the embassies of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia inquiring about the readiness of these countries to help and provide assistance to BiH by engaging their police officers at the BiH border, as well as in technical assistance. Activities are underway to conclude a bilateral agreement with Hungary regarding the engagement of their police officers.
The need to intensify regional cooperation on migration issues was reiterated. The Information states that from January 1 to March 25, 2019, 3,323 illegal migrants were reported to the Service for Foreigners' Affairs.

2,987 persons expressed the intention to submit an application for asylum in BiH, while 72 persons submitted an asylum application. Most migrants are from Pakistan (27.3%), followed by nationals of Iraq (13.1%), Syria (12.6%), Algeria (10.5%) and Morocco (9.2%). Among the others, who make up 27.30% of the total number of reported migrants, are nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Bangladesh and India.