TI BiH: RS govt refuses to disclose terms of Banja Luka-Prijedor motorway project agreement

As TI BiH’s Public Relations Manager, Srdjan Traljic, told Fena news agency, the organisation has been seeking access to all essential details of the contract since 2021, stressing the strong public interest in a project suspected of being concluded under harmful conditions for Republika Srpska.

Despite four court rulings in its favour, TI BiH says the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Republika Srpska released the concession agreement without the crucial section detailing the project’s financial model. The Ministry previously justified withholding this information by citing the protection of the Chinese investor’s commercial interests; a claim the District Court in Banja Luka later ruled was unfounded.

“The court clearly stated that the Ministry protected the commercial interests of a private investor instead of the public interest, without conducting a public interest test or specifying any concrete business losses that could result from disclosure. It also ruled that even if the investor’s interests were at risk, the Ministry was obliged to assess whether releasing details about the financing model and expected toll revenues would serve the greater public good,” Traljic explained.

In addition to concealing key financial data, the Ministry launched a public procurement process in November last year to audit and revise the financial model at the concessionaire’s request.

“Following those changes, the project’s total value rose by an additional 178 million Bosnian marks (approximately €91 million), reaching 757 million marks (approximately €388 million). What we are trying to establish, by gaining access to the financial model, are the specific obligations the Republika Srpska Government undertook. Media reports, which have not been denied, claim the Government guaranteed the project’s profitability, meaning it would compensate potential losses if toll revenues fell short. We still have no official confirmation of this or of any updates after the project’s cost increase,” Traljic said.

Although the District Court emphasised that the Ministry must uphold public trust in the management and spending of taxpayers’ funds, Traljic noted that the authorities continue to withhold the terms and details of one of Republika Srpska’s most significant infrastructure projects.

“Since the signing of this agreement, TI BiH has consistently demanded transparency over all key provisions, given strong suspicions that the deal was concluded under unfavourable conditions for Republika Srpska. The Government and the Ministry are not only legally bound to comply with court decisions, they are also morally and institutionally obliged to prioritise the public interest and the right of citizens to know how this project impacts them over the private interests of foreign companies,” Traljic concluded.