NEVESINJE MUNICIPALITY
Opening of two capital projects
July 1, 2010

Opening of two projects implemented in Nevesinje Municipality: “Pavement of the Road to the Kalufi Necropolis” and “Construction of the Water supply system Udbina Nevesinje, Part I – Improvement to the existing water supply system” is scheduled for July 1, 2010

Nevesinje municipality is located in the Eastern Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and stretches over 1040 km2 mountainous terrain, with an average elevation of 860 m above the sea level. Based on the most recent population estimates, municipality has around 18,280 citizens.

While Nevesinje Municipality has been a GAP partner municipality since December 2005, it has been implementing GAP’s participatory methodology on preparation and development of the Capital Improvement Planning since 2007. Ever since then, municipality yearly updates their Capital Improvement Program (CIP), with citizens’ participation, outlining most important capital projects to be realized in the upcoming five years. The CIP adopted for 2009-2013 contained 59 projects, out of which 33% of those was proposed by the Mayor and his staff, while the rest were proposed by citizens, local communities, NGOs, youth organizations, various public institutions, businessmen, and other interested parties.

Out of the priorities listed in the CIP 2009-2013, Nevesinje CIP Coordination Team, selected two abovementioned projects to be implemented with GAP co-financing. Once tenders and implementation of those projects have been completed, Municipality asked for and attained an approval for implementation of a third co-financing project, with funds saved from those originally selected. Hence, Nevesinje is currently in the process of implementation (preparation of the tendering procedures and procurement processes) of a third capital project called “Construction of the Road Leading to the Ovciji Brod Bridge,” with the estimated cost of 112,860.00 BAM (31,725 BAM or 28% to be financed by GAP and 81,135.00 BAM or 72% to be financed by Municipality)

Here is the short overview of the two projects successfully implemented with GAP’s assistance:

“Construction of the Water supply system Udbina Nevesinje, Part I – Improvement to the existing water supply system”

This project was ranked to be the top priority project among all projects submitted to the municipality, and the total cost for its implementation amounted to 127,052.16 BAM, where GAP financed 50,000.00 BAM or 39% while the Municipality financed the rest, or 77,052.16 BAM or 61% from a loan with the IRBRS. Municipality has, for this project participated with 13.596.10 BAM more then it originally planned.
With this project, Municipality Nevesinje upgraded and modernized water system by replacement of 1,700m of asbestos-cement pipes with new eco-pipes in the center of the municipality. These activities have improved water supply for all citizens and have significantly eliminated possibility of water losses at the subject locations. Furthermore, replacement of the old pipes has decreased maintenance costs of that part of the supply system and has ensured that Nevesinje citizens are supplied with higher-quality drinking water.
Municipality Nevesinje is planning to entirely construct new and improve existing water supply system in its area, and the project at stake is part of the overall solution. Implementation of this part of the project has been identified as priority because of the significant cost savings opportunity provided due to planned upgrading of the road infrastructure. These savings amount to approximately 100,000.00 BAM and have been achieved by not having to do the asphalt cutting, excavation, back filling and repaving of the 1700m long road section.

“Pavement of the Road to the Kalufi Necropolis”

This project was the second ranked priority within the CIP for 2009-2013, the Tourism and Environment strategic sector, and was second-best to fit GAP co-financing criteria. Total project implementation cost was 109,638.62 BAM, where GAP will finance around 40%, or 43,274.36 BAM of works, while Municipality Nevesinje will finance 66,364.26 BAM or 60%.
Kalufi Necropolis is a very attractive tourist destination of medieval tombstones, located close to village Krekovi, with the total of 468 tombstones, which is believed to be the largest site of standing tomb-stones (“stecci”) in the Balkans. The road between the Kalufi site and Krekovi village was in a very bad condition, and its construction will greatly help expansion of tourist activities in the rural areas.
Within this project, Municipality constructed and paved 1358 m of the road to Necropolis, which enabled faster and easier access to the site and created preconditions for Kalufi Necropolis to become an accessible and attractive tourist destination, as widely recognized cultural and historical heritage. It is predicted that in the next two years number of visitors will increase by at least 20% (source: Municipal PR), which will positively impact development of tourism in the entire municipality.

Nevesinje has, thus far, besides the projects at stake, during GAP Phase I, successfully implemented additional three community development projects with GAPs assistance, including purchase of medical mammography equipment for Nevesinje Hospital, reconstruction of the central heating system in the Nevesinje Culture Center, and reconstruction of the Sports Center “Nevesinjka.”

Before…