“It was a moment of unity and pride.”
Every morning at 5:10 am, the first tram of the day sets off from Ilidža, a western suburb of Sarajevo, towards the mediaeval bazaar, Baščaršija, the city’s cultural centre. This daily journey has become a cornerstone of life in Sarajevo over the tramway’s 140-year history. Generations of residents have made this trip, with the tram becoming part of the city’s identity.
The tramway debuted in 1885, pulled by horses. But just ten years later, Sarajevo became one of the first European cities to electrify its trams. Over the decades, the tram network played a crucial role in the city’s growth.
For Esad Mujagić, the tram is more than a mode of transport—it’s his life’s work. "When I started working for the city's public transport company in the 1980s, I didn’t think trams would define my career," he says.
During the brutal siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, the city’s trams stopped running for the first time in their history, their routes blocked by the violence that engulfed the city. After two long years, the tram service restarted, even though the siege was not yet over. From then on, Mujagić worked every day to repair the damage caused by bullets and shrapnel. "We wanted to keep the trams going," Mujagić recalls. "We wanted people to have some sense of normality in their daily lives."
For years after the war, Sarajevo's old trams bore the scars of the conflict as they travelled around the city, and Mujagić campaigned for their replacement. His hard work finally paid off in 2024. For the first time in 40 years, Sarajevo unveiled a fleet of new, bright yellow trams.
The trams are just one of the many signs of progress marking 2024 as a turning point for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s long-term projects and European ambitions. In early 2024, EU leaders officially agreed to open accession negotiations with the country. Across the country, major infrastructure projects are hitting milestones – new roads are underway, wind farms are rising, and hospitals are being upgraded. The European Investment Bank has partnered with the public and private sectors to drive this progress.
But this story isn’t just about bridges and tunnels and trams. It’s about people making a difference on the ground. People like Esad Mujagić, committed to improving the lives of their fellow citizens. We went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to visit a hydraulic engineer protecting his city from future floods, a city official restoring the local river to its former glory, and a government worker ensuring access to clean water for remote communities. We want you to meet an environmentalist working to save the native fish population. An engineer making roads safer. A doctor who returned from abroad to provide better healthcare at home.
The Olympic spirit
The last time Sarajevo got new trams was in 1984, when the city welcomed the world to the Winter Olympics. Then part of Yugoslavia, Sarajevo left a lasting impression on the world, showcasing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s charm and hospitality, for which it is widely known throughout the region.
In the lead-up to the Games, there was no snow—a rarity for that time of year. But on the eve of the opening ceremony, a storm blanketed the city. “Everyone came out to help clean the streets,” Mujagić recalls. “It was a moment of unity and pride.”
That image of Sarajevo was shattered just a few years later with the outbreak of the war that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. But Mujagić believes the new tram is part of a move to recover Sarajevo’s greatest moment. “It feels like it did back before the war. I hope this project is just one of many to come that will make Sarajevo a true European city and set the country on the path to the European Union.”
‘Passengers are thrilled’
Mujagić’s optimism isn’t misplaced. The arrival of new trams in Sarajevo marks the start of an ambitious project to upgrade and expand the city’s public transport network. The project, financed by the European Investment Bank with two loans worth €75 million, will replace aging trams and trolleybuses, and construct new tramlines and tracks. The aim is to reduce traffic congestion and tackle one of Sarajevo’s most pressing issues: air pollution.
"I’m so happy I got to see these new trams in service before I retire," says Mujagić, who will retire at the end of the year after decades working in the city’s tram network. But this is just the beginning. The city will receive 25 more trams by the end of 2025.
For tram driver Hilmo Pljevljak, who’s driven trams for almost 30 years, this is the eighth model he’s operated. He was behind the wheel for the first official trip of the new trams and is now teaching others how to drive them. “These are by far my favourite. They’re equipped with video surveillance, heating, air conditioning, and they fit more passengers. They’re just so much more comfortable,” Pljevljak says. The new trams can accommodate 180 passengers and are fully accessible, a major improvement for commuters, including those with disabilities.
"Passengers are thrilled," Pljevljak adds. "Most of them have been riding the same trams their entire lives, so this is a huge step up."
A tram ride through Sarajevo with driver Hilmo Pljevljak.
The flood of the century
Tucked in a valley surrounded by five evergreen-coated mountains, Sarajevo stretches along the banks of the Miljacka River. Celebrated in many popular songs, the river is home to some of the city’s most famous landmarks. Over a dozen bridges cross it, including the Latin Bridge, the site of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination, which sparked World War I.
A short drive east along the Miljacka takes you from the city centre into sweeping, dark green forests. Here you cross from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into Republika Srpska, one of two autonomous entities formed after the war. Republika Srpska, home to a predominantly Serbian population, covers much of the eastern and northern parts of the country.
Turn right and the road will take you to Sarajevo’s Olympic ski resort. Head left, and you’ll end up travelling one of the country’s most scenic routes, eventually reaching Bijeljina, Republika Srpska’s second most populous city. Like Sarajevo, Bijeljina has faced a tumultuous recent history. In May 2014, it was the epicentre of the worst flood in southeastern Europe’s recorded history. The flood affected over 100 000 people, with 33 000 evacuated. It submerged more than 90 000 hectares of land and 35 000 houses and buildings. Damage estimates reached €1 billion.
“It was cataclysmic,” recalls Miroslav Čvrgić. “For days, there was no water, no electricity. People couldn’t reach their homes.” Čvrgić, a Bijeljina resident, grew up in a nearby village. When the floods hit, he was separated from his wife and daughter, while his family home was inundated, leaving his parents stranded.
As he walks through the village, pointing out where the floodwaters once surged onto the roads and farms, Čvrgić runs into his neighbour, Branimir Andrić, a local farmer. Andrić, father of five, vividly recalls the night the water came. “I was keeping an eye on the water level and knew the embankment wouldn’t hold,” he says. “We were scrambling to move the cattle up the hill to save them. Once the water hit the village, I used my tractor to help people get around.”
Čvrgić nods in agreement. “That week, the community rallied to organise a tractor-based public transport system,” he adds, with a wry smile.
But the fear of flooding persisted long after the waters receded. “We were on edge for months – every heavy rain made us nervous,” says Čvrgić.
That fear, however, has since faded. For the past decade, Čvrgić, now assistant director of Republika Srpska’s public water management institution, has worked on a project to protect the region from future floods. The project, partly funded by €74 million from the European Investment Bank, has rehabilitated 160 kilometres of water channels and 100 kilometres of dykes, making the region more resilient to increasingly frequent floods caused by climate change.
“We’re now protected from catastrophic floods like the one in 2014, or what they call a ‘100-year flood’,” says Čvrgić. A “100-year flood” is an event so rare and severe that it has just a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.
As he talks, the first drops of rain begin to fall. “It’s okay,” he says, watching the sky. “We’re not afraid of the rain anymore.”
“It was the biggest health project in Republika Srpska at the time, and all eyes were on us.”
‘I finally feel like a real doctor’
When devastating floods hit Bijeljina in Bosnia’s agricultural heartland in 2014, forcing many to leave their homes, the newly opened hospital offered much needed support. The new hospital was the first major healthcare facility in the area since 1939. “It was the biggest health project in Republika Srpska at the time, and all eyes were on us,” says Dr Siniša Maksimović, the hospital’s director during that period.
Opened in 2013 after just three years of construction, the new hospital replaced several outdated facilities, offering nearly 250 beds and five operating theatres. “Everything was new – the equipment, the building – it was the most modern health facility in the country at the time,” says Maksimović. “And we’ve managed to maintain that standard.”
For head nurse Radmila Simić, who’s worked at the hospital for 24 years, the move to the new building was transformative. “It felt like a new era for our healthcare,” she says. “Ever since, we’ve seen rapid progress.” Today, the hospital draws patients from across Bosnia and Herzegovina and even from neighbouring countries. “We provide advanced healthcare that wasn’t available before,” says paediatrician and current hospital director Dr Mikajlo Lazić.
The hospital construction was part of a bigger project which also included the reconstruction of the clinical centre in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska’s largest city, and was financed with €115 million from the European Investment Bank. In 2023, the European Investment Bank signed another loan to support the construction of a new medical campus at the University of Banja Luka, as well as the continued upgrades to its clinical centre.
“The most important thing is that our patients are satisfied,” says Simić.
And satisfied they are. Ajis Hanušić, a fifth generation Bijeljina resident, remembers the old hospital all too well. “Back then, it was so difficult to move between departments,” he says. “We used to joke that you had to be completely healthy just to move around the hospital.”
But that didn’t mean that the old hospital was left to decay. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, doctors found a new purpose for it. “We were probably the only city in the region with a dedicated COVID-19 hospital,” Lazić says. “Thanks to the old facility, we could continue scheduled surgeries, while other hospitals had to halt operations.”
The new hospital, however, was a game-changer for patients and staff. “When the new building first opened,” Maksimović recalls, “a colleague came up to me after a night shift and said, ‘I finally feel like a real doctor’.”
‘The river means life’
Bijeljina, cradled between the Sava and Drina rivers, isn’t the only region in Bosnia and Herzegovina defined by its rivers. The country itself takes its name from the Bosna River, derived from an Illyrian word meaning “running water”. Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to 262 rivers, making it one of the most water-rich nations in Europe. With approximately 9 000 cubic metres of renewable freshwater per capita – nearly double the European average of 5 000 cubic metres – it ranks among the continent’s top countries for drinking water availability.
No river, however, defines a region more than the Neretva in the south. Spanning 225 kilometres, the Neretva is famous for its emerald-green, icy-cold waters – the coldest in the world, in fact. The river cuts through dramatic gorges and historic cities, most notably Mostar, home to one of the country’s most recognisable landmarks – the Old Bridge. The sixteenth-century Ottoman stone bridge, which arches across the Neretva, has long connected the city’s Bosnian Muslim community in the east with its Croatian and Serbian population in the west. Destroyed in the 1990s war and later rebuilt, it now stands as a powerful symbol of reconciliation.
The city of Mostar has become so closely associated with the river that most people in former Yugoslav countries refer to it as “the city on the Neretva”. But years of neglect have taken a toll. “When I was growing up, we swam at the beaches right in the city centre, just 50 metres from the old town,” says Emir Nuspahić, a lifelong resident. “But we took it for granted.” Poorly managed sewage systems have weakened the water’s quality, threatening the river’s famous turquoise and green hues. “As the city expanded, the sewer system wasn’t properly planned, and we ended up with numerous sewage leaks concealed in the vegetation along the riverbanks,” he explains.
Born and raised in Mostar, Nuspahić has never left the city, raising his family on these riverbanks. “They say life is like a river, but here, the river means life,” he says.
Determined to restore the river’s glory, Nuspahić has spent the past decade leading a cleanup project as part of his role in the city administration. “We’ve installed large-diameter sludge collectors on both sides of the river to avoid sewers being emptied directly into the Neretva. And the results are already visible.”
“They say life is like a river, but here, the river means life.”
Mostar resident and president of a local fishing association, Nedžad Selimović agrees. Standing by the riverbank, Ribic reflects on the changes. “You can already see less sludge in the river, and the fish are coming back,” he says.
But Selimović hopes people will return to the river as well. “We have beaches in the city centre and wild river basin just a few hundred metres away. I’ve travelled the world, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” A father of two, Selimović, hopes younger generations will reconnect with the river. “I want them to understand just how special what they have is.”
Nuspahić shares that emotional connection. “We’ve had to dig up the entire city centre during this project,” he says. “A lot of people weren’t happy with the disruption, so it was difficult at times.” Now, with the toughest part behind him, Nuspahić feels hopeful. “This isn’t the end. There’s still so much more to do. We won’t stop until the Neretva is completely clean.”
Emir Nuspahić talks about the importance of the Neretva for the city of Mostar.
“If someone upstream pollutes a river, that pollution affects everyone living downstream.”
‘We all live downstream’
Just 25 kilometres northwest of Mostar, another man is on a mission to save his local river. Boro Đolo grew up along the banks of the Lištica River. “Here, people learn to swim before they learn to walk,” he says.
A soft-spoken grandfather, Đolo spends his free time working with a local organisation to restore the area’s native fish population. Professionally, Đolo has devoted 35 years to the water sector, working for the city of Široki Brijeg. There he leads a project aimed at improving wastewater services to protect the Lištica. The city has already built and rehabilitated 25 kilometres of sewer lines and four kilometres of storm drains and is currently constructing a treatment plant to serve its 15 000 residents.
Flowing from a nearby spring, the Lištica River, carves through local landscapes before joining the Neretva near Mostar. “That’s why it’s crucial to keep the Lištica clean. We all live downstream,” Đolo says. “If someone upstream pollutes a river, that pollution affects everyone living downstream.”
The projects in Mostar and Široki Brijeg are part of a larger effort, financed by the European Investment Bank, to improve water and sanitation across the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The €60 million invested in these initiatives is part of the Bank’s broader €240 million commitments to water infrastructure and flood protection in the country.
“The project covers 19 municipalities and has significantly improved the quality of life for residents,” says Sukavata Bejdić, project lead at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry. Speaking in her crowded office, surrounded by stacks of paperwork, Bejdić maintains an optimistic attitude and an infectious smile. “Over the last 15 years, this project has brought clean drinking water and a better sewerage system to more than 500 000 people.”
Bejdić knows she’s making a difference. “It’s been a long process and a lot of hard work,” Bejdić says, “but I talk to people on the ground every day, and I’m happy I can do something for them.”
Winding it up
The European Investment Bank isn’t just protecting the environment. It’s also helping Bosnia and Herzegovina prepare for the green transition by supporting its renewable energy goals. EIB Global, the Bank's development arm, has signed a €36 million loan with the country’s public electricity company for the construction of a 50 MW wind farm on the high plateau of the Vlašić mountain in the geographical centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The wind farm is set to strengthen the country’s energy supply and increase power generation from renewable resources. Known locally for its traditional sheep’s cheese, the Vlašić mountain, will soon host 18 wind turbines. The project is expected to:
- produce 115 GWh of electricity annually, enough to power 20 000 households,
- and cut CO2 emission by 140 000 tonnes each year, equivalent to taking 33 000 cars off the road for a year.
The loan comes in addition to the €21 million in grants allocated by the European Union through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).
Wikimedia
On the road
Much as the Neretva River connects the people of Herzegovina, a new road passing through the region is set to link the entire country.
Known as Corridor Vc, this 679-kilometre road stretches from Budapest all the way to the Croatian coast, with most of its route running through Bosnia and Herzegovina. The motorway will connect people and businesses, improve travel times, and strengthen economic relations. It also marks the country’s real as well as symbolic road to the European Union.
But the impact of Corridor Vc goes beyond trade and transport. It addresses a graver issue – road safety. In 2023 alone, the country saw over 35 000 traffic accidents, with 255 fatalities. That’s nearly 80 per one million inhabitants, well above the EU average of 46. “The best way to improve road safety is to build more motorways,” says Zlatko Demirovski, who heads traffic control at the public motorway company. “Only two of those fatalities occurred on highways, less than 1% of the total.”
From his post at a traffic control centre some 70 kilometres north of Sarajevo, Demirovski and his team monitor 550 cameras placed across the country’s motorway, using automated software to detect accidents and respond immediately. The section between Zenica and Sarajevo has already proven its worth.
Before it was built, the local roads claimed up to 15 lives each year. Since the motorway opened, that number has dropped to one. “Speeding and risky overtaking account for 50% of all accidents, and motorways, with multiple lanes and better design, have drastically reduced these risks,” Demirovski says. And safety advances aren’t stopping there. The country is preparing for the future where cars will communicate directly with road infrastructure and with each other, minimising human error and further improving safety.
With over 148 bridges and 46 tunnels, Corridor Vc is the largest infrastructure project in the country. In 2024, significant progress was highlighted by the breakthrough of the country’s longest tunnel and the opening of a one-kilometre Herzegovina bridge over the Neretva. The European Investment Bank played a key role in these developments, investing more than €1 billion in Corridor Vc to date.
The family doctor
The European Union’s financing arm doesn’t only invest in public projects. A large part of its funding goes to local entrepreneurs, with €880 million directed toward small and medium-sized businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
One such beneficiary is Sirius Medical, a diagnostic centre in East Sarajevo.
Almost hidden between residential buildings, the centre is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Inside, it’s calm and clinical, but with a more welcoming feel than you’d expect from a typical medical facility. Much of that is thanks to Dr Nevenka Pantić-Vuković, a strong yet gentle presence who naturally commands respect.
Born into a family of doctors, Pantić-Vuković initially wanted to be a surgeon. But after seeing advances in radiology abroad, she returned to Bosnia where she co-founded the centre. “The centre offers the latest in radiological diagnostics, including CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, and X-rays,” she says. “But most importantly, we ensure that all our patients are referred to specialists for follow-up care after their diagnosis.”
Since it opened during the height of the pandemic, the centre has quickly established itself, serving over 10 000 patients in four years. Yet, it still maintains the feel of a close-knit, family practice.
In one of the rooms, Slađana Novaković sits with her six-year-old son Stefan, who is there for a check-up. “When we first came here, we had visited so many other clinics and no one could tell us what was wrong,” Novaković recalls. “Within an hour, Dr Nevenka had diagnosed him and later stayed in constant touch, while he was being treated abroad.”
“She saved his life,” she says with tears in her eyes, hugging her son. “Thanks to her, my son is starting school this year.”
In the waiting room, another patient, Željana Kovač, praises the centre as well. Her mother, a local teacher, was diagnosed with a tumour at the clinic and received timely treatment. “We’re incredibly lucky to have a health facility with such modern equipment in our city,” Kovac says.
Dr Pantić-Vuković believes that trust and communication are key to the centre’s success. “A lot of people today trust the internet more than their doctor,” she says. “I believe that knowing your patient and their medical history is 70% of a good diagnosis. And for that, you must listen.”
“She saved his life. Thanks to her, my son is starting school this year.”
What is a country but its people?
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, one thing everyone agrees on is the strength of its people. Despite enduring a history of conflict and hardship, the people here are known throughout the region for their resilience, warmth, and humour. Hospitality is not only a tradition, but also a way of life. Even after everything, they continue to welcome everybody with open arms.
Nevenka Pantić-Vuković knows this well. Originally from Belgrade, she moved to Sarajevo after the war, following her husband. “I came here for love,” she says. After years working abroad, however, she returned once again. This time it was for the love of the people. “People have been through so much here, and I just wanted to do something for them.”
Radmila Simić, head nurse at Bijeljina Hospital, feels the same way. Raised in Germany, she returned to her parents’ homeland to give back to the community. “Our people have this incredible ability to adapt to anything thrown at them.”
And that’s how they all see their work, these people we met in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is a deep sense of responsibility to restore and strengthen their communities. Just as Boro Đolo says that “we all live downstream,” so everyone in this small country recognizes that their every action sends ripples through the tide that carries them all, with each of their efforts shaping and improving the lives of those around them.
Related project(s)
- CORRIDOR VC - FIRST PHASE - NORTH
- CORRIDOR VC
- EMERGENCY FLOOD RELIEF AND PREVENTION
- RS HOSPITALS
- CORRIDOR VC - SECOND PHASE
- CORRIDOR VC ZENICA NORTH
- FLOOD PROTECTION MEASURES RS
- CORRIDOR VC CENTRE
- PROCREDIT WB COVID19 RESPONSE FOR SMES & MIDCAPS
- CORRIDOR VC POCITELJ - BIJACA
- SARAJEVO URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECT
- WINDFARM VLASIC
- WATER AND SANITATION FEDERATION BIH
- CORRIDOR VC MEDAKOVO - POPRIKUSE
