New report: EU must act to prevent needless environmental and social damage by Corridor Vc motorway in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Based on a recent site visit, the report examines two planned sections of the motorway – from Mostar South to the Kvanj Tunnel and from Konjic to Mostar, through the iconic Prenj mountain. Insisting on EU requirements on public consultation and environmental assessments is the only way to avoid increased public resistance and further delays, it finds.

In the Neretva valley south of Mostar, the project is in stalemate over disputes on routing and expropriation. The proposed route crosses agricultural land and villages with burgeoning small-scale tourism. Many people have already had to rebuild their lives from scratch due to war, yet are now threatened by expropriation, loss of income or ill health. Alternative routes are available, including one on the nearby Podveležje plateau, which was selected as the best one in 2011 but later abandoned for reasons that remain unclear. 

This January, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) complaint mechanism published the results of an investigation (2), following a complaint by local people. It confirmed that the selection of the route south of Mostar had breached the EBRD’s environmental and social policy and that local people had not been consulted. As a result, it recommended re-examination of the route.

But the EBRD’s management is not willing to press for this re-examination, stating that project promoter JP Autoceste and the Federation of BiH authorities will not consider it. (3) Meanwhile, residents resisting expropriation are worried but determined, with several court cases ongoing.

The most difficult part of the motorway may be still to come – a 10-kilometre tunnel through the Prenj mountain, long planned to be a national park, but currently lacking legal protection. The report warns against repeating the same mistakes again, as the new routing was proposed in 2016 and adopted in 2017 without public consultations. 

People from the quiet village of Podgorani, nestled under Prenj, oppose the routing as it would run on viaducts behind their houses, causing noise and pollution. And at the other end of the Prenj tunnel, the motorway threatens the stunning Bijela valley, nominated for protection under the Bern Convention. (4) Local environmental groups such as Zeleni Neretva are also concerned that underground water flows in the area are not well enough understood to make informed decisions on the routing.

Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, CEE Bankwatch Network – ‘People’s land is a source of security and stability. It can’t be ceded for an illegal and illegitimate motorway route, especially when reasonable alternatives exist. The European Commission and banks need to make it clear to the Federation authorities that the use of EU money depends on re-examining the route and meaningful public consultations. This could have been done by now if they had started when people first raised concerns.’

Pippa Gallop, CEE Bankwatch Network – ‘With more than EUR 3 billion in EU loans and grants for the Corridor Vc so far, it is imperative to ensure compliance with EU environmental, social and procurement standards. People’s livelihoods, BiH’s diverse and unspoilt rivers and mountains, and the EU’s credibility are at stake.’

Contacts

Pippa Gallop, CEE Bankwatch Network

pippa.gallop@bankwatch.org

+385 99 755 9787

Skype: pippa.gallop

Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, CEE Bankwatch Network

fidankab@bankwatch.org 

+359 87 730 3097

Notes for editors

1. The report, The Corridor Vc motorway in Bosnia and Herzegovina – A decisive test for EU standards, can be found here.

   The Corridor Vc is the EU’s 330-kilometre-long flagship road project in BiH. Around a third of the route has been built and several more sections are under construction (for more details, see here). It has been supported by more than EUR 3 billion in loans and grants from the EU, European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with more in the pipeline.

2. Corridor Vc in FBH – Part 3 – EBRD Independent Project Accountability Mechanism Compliance Review Final Report, 11 January 2024.
3. Corridor Vc in FBH – Part 3 – EBRD Management Response and Action Plan, 11 January 2024.
4. Council of Europe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.