SANSKI MOST, FEBRUARY 3 (ONASA) – Sanski Most can boast of being the first waqf shopping center in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its importance is reflected in the fact that it will benefit the whole society because it is a waqf.
The new waqf shopping center in Hamzi-begova street, which stretches in the shadow of the homonymous mosque with four minarets, is located on the site of the old market.
The center was built on the basis of the signed Protocol between the General Directorate of Waqfs of the Republic of Turkey and the Waqf Directorate of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The endowment shopping center in Sanski Most is the largest endowment of its kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most significant projects of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The construction cost six and a half million BAM, it covers three acres of land and has 7,400 square meters of useful space.
The foundation stone was laid in April 2018, and construction began in September 2021. The center was built on the foundation of Hamzi Bey, after whom it will be named. It was designed in the style of Islamic architecture, and it was designed by local architect Enes Kartal.
The contractor is the Sana company ErG Inžinjering and Inžinjering1 from Jelah. Although the official opening is planned at the end of April as part of the traditional “Days of the Endowment in BiH” event, Sanjani, the entire Krajina, as well as tourists, have been enjoying the new oasis of joy, socializing and shopping in the very vicinity of the city center for several months now, given that the tenants opened their shops.
The offer includes famous fashion brands LC Waikiki, Sinsay, Pepco, Sport Reality, exchange office of BH Post, game room, cafeteria, jewelry store, large underground garage with 130 parking spaces.
The construction of this capital economic project shows others to invest and that Sanski Most is ready to accept serious projects. In addition, this large construction project contributed to the modernization of Sanski Most, which encouraged this city, as well as the surrounding cities, to continue development.
“This is the first waqf shopping center that was built in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the waqf directorate is particularly proud of. We managed to change the city’s image, raise it to a modern level, and economically strengthen it by giving Sanski Most and the people here such an imposing building. Its construction benefits the local population and the local community, as well as domestic companies that participated in the construction itself, and many people found work in our endowment shopping center. The intention was to offer the citizens of the municipality of Sanski Most and the Majlis an alternative that will reduce the outflow of the young population from these areas,” said the director of the Waqf Directorate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senaid Zajimović.
As part of the “Days of Waqf 2024” event, more new infrastructure projects – waqf facilities – will be opened, while other contents will also contribute to raising people’s awareness of the importance of the institution of waqf and permanent assets.
Chief imam of the Majlis of the Islamic Community (MIZ) Sanski Most Mirza ef. Žerić assessed that this is one of the largest post-war investments in Sanski Most, confirming that the opening of this shopping center will contribute to Sanski Most developing and becoming an attractive place to live.
“After the Waqf Directorate of IZ found a donor, the General Waqf Directorate of Turkey, we agreed on the construction together, without them this would not have happened. The Majlis will achieve a great financial benefit through this project, we will use the funds to finance our current needs, but also for the improvement of the waqf and the construction of some new endowments. We are deeply convinced that this is not a project that will last ten years, but a generational project from which Muslims and everyone in Sanski Most will benefit for 100 and 200 or more years in the coming period,” said Žerić.
He notes that the complex was built in such a way that its construction can last for many years, with the fact that it can be redesigned if necessary and something else made if time, space or people’s interests require it in the future.
Until now, as he says, Sanski Most has not had such a facility.
“Sanski Most needed a facility like this. With its construction, we got a modern center that offers an underground garage that can accommodate 130 vehicles. It is the only such garage in the city. The companies that have opened branches in our endowment shopping center are witnesses to our success. And their expectations are justified,” Žerić states.
Dozens of people are employed in the newly built foundation center, which is a confirmation to the Foundation Directorate that it fulfills the set goals of the mission, and one of them is the economic empowerment of cities and municipalities through employment and the creation of new jobs, which contributes to the retention of as many young people as possible in these areas.
The USK government provided financial support and assistance in issuing permits.