Minister Hadžić Hands over Licence to RS Railways for Passenger and Cargo Transport



Minister of Communications and Transport of BIH Damir Hadžić handed over in Sarajevo today a licence for passenger and cargo railway transport service provision to Dragan Savanović, General Manager of the Railways of Republika Srpska.

“The orientation of the State and Entity authorities in the coming period will be towards the railways. Without of railway transport and railway infrastructure development the economic development cannot be expected, as the railway transport is a key to economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Minister Hadžić said on the occasion of handing over the licence.

The licence for service provision is a precondition for a smooth international railway transport and it presumes operator’s readiness for market conditions of business-making with a clear planning of revenues and expenditures and enhanced accountability among its managing structures, This licence is a precondition for staff licencing, to open easier access to transport labour market in future.

Subject to the EU Directive 440/91, transposed to the BIH  Law on Railways, BIH railway companies must undergo restructuring in a way to separate operating from infrastructure costs, as a requirement from the Stabilisation and Accession Agreement, Addendum from the Memorandum of Understanding from Tirana, and Road Map and EBRD Loan Agreement for BIH Railway Sector.

The Ministry of Communications and Transport of BIH, though the Managing Board of the BIH Railways Regulatory Board (UO ROŽBiH), created the required system prerequisites, identical to those of the EU, for interested BIH companies to be licenced for service provision in relation to operations and infrastructure management. Also, Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the UO ROŽBiH, is ready for mutual recognition of regulatory documents, based on reciprocity principle.

The ceremony of handing over the licence was attended by Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the BIH Parliamentarian Assembly Milorad Živković and Head of the BIH Railways Regulatory Board Borka Trkulja.

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