As announced earlier, the final conference of the project EU support to SMEs project in BiH was held in Sarajevo.
Head of Operations for Economic Development, Natural Resources and Infrastructure of the EU Delegation to BiH Martin Schieder stressed that the aim of the project was to improve the competitiveness of Bosnia and Herzegovina by improving the existing infrastructure for business.
He added that under the project nine feasibility studies were conducted that include conceptual solutions in the municipalities of Bihać, Brčko, Istočno Novo Sarajevo, Laktaši, Ljubuški, Mostar, Travnik, Orašje and Teslić, as well as investment analyses for Banja Luka and Bijeljina.
“In the past two years, as long as the project lasted, it was shown that there is a real chance for the development of business infrastructure across the country, and that investing 40 million euros could attract up to 150 investors and create 8,000 jobs,” explained Schieder.
He said that all nine municipalities had shown strong commitment to prepare quality investment projects for the local community.
Mayor of Novi Travnik Refik Lendo says that they were trying to create conditions to attract investment and create new jobs in the industrial zone Neobarje, and that preparations had been completed and part of lots already sold, so that they expected investors to start building the facilities in the coming days.
The Mayor of Teslić, Milan Miličević, said that people of the municipality were very keen to complete the project of the industrial zone Lanara, for which a feasibility study had been completed, and attract domestic and foreign investors and thereby reduce the unemployment rate.
The two-year EU project supporting small and medium enterprises in BiH was funded by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA 2009) in the amount of 1.3 million euros and implemented by WYG International Ltd.
(Source: ekapija)
