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Construction on Ibar Bridge suspended (Radio Free Europe)

By   /  06/07/2017  /  No Comments

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Construction on the main bridge over the Ibar River in the northern part of Mitrovica inhabited mainly by Serbs remains suspended following a decision by leadership of the Mitrovica North municipality. The bridge, which is being rebuilt with funds by the European Union, was scheduled to be opened for vehicles on January 10 this year. But this was postponed after the construction of a wall and its demolition afterwards as well as new agreements that were reached. At the time, Natalija Apostolova, the European Union’s Special Representative in Kosovo, said the bridge would be opened after the project for turning the King Peter Street in Mitrovica North would be transformed into a pedestrian area. However, in April, Mitrovica North mayor, Goran Rakic, following a series of incidents around the bridge, had decided to suspend the construction and called on local and international security mechanisms to provide a safe and secure environment for the citizens. Dinka Zhivajl, an EU spokeswoman in Kosovo, told the news agency that the EU project for the revitalization of the bridge at the amount of €1 million is progressing. “This is also a result of the agreement in Brussels which foresees the transformation of the King Peter Street into a pedestrian area. The European Union expects both projects to be concluded soon,” she said. Adrijana Hodzic, chief of municipal administration in Mitrovica North municipality, said a top priority of the local government is the security of all citizens. She said the municipality has called on the EU, EULEX and other law enforcement mechanisms to step up the presence of security forces near the bridge so that construction can resume. “The only reason why the Mitrovica North Municipality insisted on interrupting the construction on the main bridge was the lack of security and several incidents that happened in this area. It is unreasonable that we don’t have concrete support from the relevant institutions when it comes to stepping up their presence, and here I mean EULEX, Kosovo Police and KFOR,” Hodzic said. Zeljko Bojic, head of operations of Kosovo Police for the north, confirmed to the news agency that the security situation is stable.

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