Bosnia Herzegovina road and tunnel works underway

In Bosnia Herzegovina, a new contract has been awarded for the Vukosavlje-Raca Highway, while progress is being seen on tunnel work for the Vranduk-Ponirak road.

Integral Engineering Laktasi Srbijaautoput Belgrade and IG Banjaluka won a €132 million design and build contract for the Raca-Bijeljina stretch of the Vukosavlje-Raca Highway. The work is expected to take 60 months to complete. Building this section of the route is expected to cost €153.4 million in all, while the Vukosavlje-Raca Highway project has an anticipated cost of €664.7 million.

Meanwhile, the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is being used to drive the bores for Bosnia's twin tube Vranduk Tunnel. One of the 380 drives has now been completed, with work now due to start on the second bore. The work is being carried out by contractors from Azerbaijan, Azvirt and Hering dd Siroki Brijeg.

The Vranduk Tunnel forms part of the road linking Vranduk and Ponirak, itself part of the route between Poprikusa and Zenica. The project is being managed by DRI Investment Management while funding has been provided by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).