The Prime Ministers of Republika Srpska and Serbia laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 125-megawatt hydropower plant on the Drina River.
"Buk Bijela" dam and power plant, near the town of Foča, will be part of a system of three hydroelectric power plants on that river, worth about 683 million dollars, RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković told reporters.
The construction of the power plant should last four years, writes Reuters.
"We are proud to build with Serbia... it means life, connection, survival and prosperity," Viskovic said.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that Belgrade will use a large part of the 484 million euros earmarked for joint infrastructure projects with Bosnia and Herzegovina to finance this project. Brnabić stated that this is "a new beginning in the relations between Serbia and Republika Srpska", and in "the relations of the entire region".
"In this way, RS and Serbia will show how things are done in the interest of future generations. This gives us the energy and courage to think about much bigger projects," she said.
The Buk Bijela project was not approved by the central authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are responsible for cross-border projects.
BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Bisera Turković warned Serbia that its role in this project could harm bilateral relations.
"The authorities in Serbia are certainly aware that they are not only risking economic damage, but also not contributing to good neighborly relations," Turković announced on Twitter.
Non-governmental organizations and environmental associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro have been contesting the construction of this hydroelectric power plant for years, among other things because of the impact on the protected Tara Canyon in Montenegro, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and is part of the Durmitor National Park.
Non-governmental organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina - Center for the Environment and Aarhus Center, and Green Home and Ozone from Montenegro submitted a complaint to the Secretariat of the UN ESPOO Convention on environmental impact assessment across state borders last year.
The total energy production capacity of BiH consists of 2 MW from larger hydroelectric power plants and 083 MW from thermal power plants.
Small hydroelectric power plants, wind power plants and solar power plants represent an additional 112 MW.
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