SARAJEVO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) contributed some 15 million euros (16.92 million U.S. dollars) in grants for a motorway project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), EU Special Representative in BiH Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said Wednesday here.
Vc motorway, 335 kilometers long, will create greater opportunities for economic development, jobs, safer and faster transport with the EU, the EU Delegation in BiH said in an online statement.
During his visit to the motorway section located some 160 kilometers north of Sarajevo, Wigemark said that this project is "an important step towards closer integration of the whole Western Balkans region in the context of the Connectivity Agenda".
"Improved connectivity within the Western Balkans and with the EU is essential for growth and jobs and brings clear benefits to the citizens," Wigemark said.
Wigemark added that the EU has set aside 1 billion euros (1.128 billion U.S. dollars) in grants until 2020 to support the implementation of the Connectivity Agenda.
To date, 35 percent of the motorway has been built or is under construction.
Since 2015, the EU has committed to co-financing 110 million euros in grants for 8 Corridor Vc projects to support the implementation of the Connectivity Agenda in BiH through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).
Corridor Vc that connects main cities in the country, from south to the north-east, will be 335 kilometers long and it is expected to be built until 2030.
The total cost of the construction is some 4 billion euros, and until today, 1.1 billion euros was invested, statistics from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) showed.
