ZENICA, JULY 1 (ONASA) – The Minister for Spatial Planning, Transport and Communications and Environmental Protection of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, Adnana Šabani, today signed contracts on the transfer of funds to the cities of Zenica and Visoko and the municipalities of Breza, Vareš and Olovo for the realization of capital projects in the area road infrastructure.
At the proposal of the line ministry and the ZDK Cantonal Directorate for Roads, the Government of the Zenica-Doboj Canton passed a Decision on allocating a total of 2,869,314.13 BAM for the implementation of capital projects by other levels of government in the field of road infrastructure.
It is about three LOTs: “Reconstruction and sanction of road infrastructure to important tourist places in the area of ZDK”; “Increasing the safety of pedestrian movement in traffic” and “Removing architectural barriers with the aim of improving the mobility of disabled persons”.
– From conversations with representatives of all cities and municipalities, I found out that this is the first time that funds have been distributed in such a high-quality way, because our goal was that the capital funds were really used for the most necessary purposes. The greatest interest was in the improvement of the road infrastructure according to the tourist potential, and this is what makes us especially happy. I promise that next year we will allocate even more funds for these purposes because we can benefit directly from these funds and by developing our tourist destinations we can influence employment and increase the income of local communities and the Canton. The decision is also to increase the number of kilometers of sidewalks along roads, especially where there are schools and kindergartens, all with the aim of increasing the safety of pedestrians, especially children and youth. We have agreed with the Coalition of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities in the Zenica-Doboj Canton to resolve as many architectural barriers as possible with the aim of improving the mobility of disabled persons, which is also included in these projects – said Minister Šabani.
Director of the ZDK Cantonal Directorate for Roads, Rasim Kovač, said that these are significant projects for local road infrastructure, and that all procedures were followed publicly and transparently.
1,620,000 BAM is earmarked for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the road infrastructure to significant tourist potentials in ZDK for 10 projects, of which Minister Adnan Šabani allocates 403,975.82 BAM for the reconstruction of the road leading to the popular Smetovi excursion site.
– Smetov are the lungs of Zenica, where an increasing number of nature lovers gather from all over ZDK and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are proud that we will finally move from promises about renovations and asphalting to actions – Šabani added.
The rehabilitation of the road to the Smetovi excursion site is the largest of the three projects approved by the City of Zenica, with a total value of 493,975 BAM.
– The rehabilitation of this road is very significant and will probably require additional investments, for which the ZDK Government has expressed its willingness to allocate funds in the coming period. The second approved project is the construction of a sidewalk from the gate of the Cantonal Hospital, and the third is the removal of architectural barriers in the City of Zenica – said the Secretary of the City of Zenica, Selver Keleštura.
To increase the safety of pedestrians in traffic, exactly one million BAM will be allocated for 11 projects in the same number of cities and municipalities.
BAM 249,314.13 will be spent on seven projects for the removal of architectural barriers with the aim of improving the mobility of disabled persons.
Mayor of Breza Municipality Vedad Jusić said that the approved funds in the amount of around 280,000 BAM are extremely important for the development of road infrastructure in the area of this local community.
– We have nominated two projects, the first is the rehabilitation of the sidewalks in the inner city center and the second is the reconstruction of the local road Breza – Mahmutović Rijeka, which will certainly improve the development of rural tourism in that area – said Jusić.
They are also satisfied with the Municipality of Vareš, which received funds in the amount of 210,000 BAM for three projects.
These are projects for the reconstruction of the road to the excursion site on Budoželj, the construction of sidewalks in Dabravine, and the adaptation of approaches to residential buildings to the needs of disabled people.
– These are very important projects that will improve the quality of life of citizens, and on this occasion I would like to thank the line minister and the Government of ZDK for their understanding, for treating us equally with other municipalities – said the municipal head Zdravko Marošević.
The signing of the Fund Transfer Agreement with representatives of the municipalities of Tešanj, Kakanj, Žepče, Usora, Doboj Jug and the town of Zavidovići was announced for tomorrow (Tuesday). (end)