A Joint Venture composed by the companies Applus, PPG and IRD Engineering have recently signed a new contract in Bosnia and Herzegovina, aimed at the provision of technical assistance to the Public Enterprises Auteceste and Autoputevi in the design of their Road Asset Management System and in the definition of the road maintenance financing strategy for Corridor Vc. The assignment is funded through a grant from the technical cooperation programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The development of Corridor Vc is a national strategic priority and has been identified as an indicative extension of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) to the Core Network of the Western Balkans. Its construction will boost the overall national economic development and will contribute to the regional integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by improving connectivity of its main cities to the capital Sarajevo and to the neighbouring countries.

More than 325 km of the Corridor Vc run through Bosnia and Herzegovina, being its first major motorway and its largest ever infrastructure project, and bringing a greater need for the implementation of an asset and inventory management system, aimed at an optimal sourcing and allocation of resources for the management, operation, conservation and enhancement of the whole infrastructure.

For the next twelve months, a multidisciplinary team of specialists from the three partner companies will provide technical assistance to the Public Enterprises Auteceste and Autoputevi in the design of a Road Asset Management System that shall also integrate a pavement management model, such as HDM-4 (Highway Development Management – 4), to enable whole-life modelling of pavement performance to facilitate and rationalize decision making.

The assignment also envisages the identification of a financing strategy to ensure that motorway maintenance is in line with traffic use and network expansions, rather than relying on budget allocations that are to some extent discretionary and not well aligned to the cost incidence.

IRD Engineering counts on a dedicated team for the provision of Technical Assistance and Capacity Building services to build, improve and maximize capacities in infrastructure planning, procurement, development, operation, and maintenance, by the expansion and strengthening of skills, resources, institutions and legal frameworks. We endeavour to maximize the transfer of knowledge in each of the assignments we are undertaking, so to achieve broad-based and long-lasting economic and social benefits.

Some highlights of our Technical Assistance and Capacity Building work can be seen by visiting our website at:

https://irdeng.com/projects/technical-assistance-and-capacity-building/

If at any time you have any questions or want to give us your feedback, please e-mail us at info@irdeng.com .