Bosnia's Entities Tussle Over Highway to Serbia

Almost a year since Bosnia and Serbia agreed to build a highway linking their capitals, Bosnia's two entities remain in a deadlock over the route.

Currently the trip between Sarajevo and Belgrade takes some five hours by car.

The fast road is expected to cut travel time drastically and provide a link between the two countries, both physically and symbolically.

"In Bosnia, the thoughts of the elected officials are considered most important," Zoran Pavlovic, a Banja Luka-based analyst said, ahead of a meeting between entity and state transport ministers in Banja Luka, northwest Bosnia.

As with any infrastructural project, the primary goals must be defined first, setting out firm economic, demographic and developmental criteria, Pavlovic explained.
 
A tender should then be called to source the most competent team for the project alongside a feasibility study is conducted to determine the project's viability.

In Bosnia, however, the politicians have wasted nearly 12 months expressing their personal interests, Pavlovic said.
 
"Everything here is based on the interests of political parties, because tomorrow it could win them an election."

Over the past year, the only point of agreement is that a fast road should be built between Sarajevo and Belgrade.

So far, two routes have been mapped.

One passes through Tuzla and Bijeljina in the north and is backed by Bosnia's mainly Bosniak and Croat Federation entity.

Tuzla is one of the main cities in the Federation, while Bijeljina is in the mostly Serbian Republika Srpska entity, RS.

The other cuts through Visegrad in in the RS the east and is backed by the RS authorities.

The Federation argues that the route...