The new funding will support construction of a cross-border highway designed to improve transportation between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska entity.
Serbia has allocated an additional 1.174 billion Serbian dinars-approximately €10 million, in order to support continued construction of the Rača-Bijeljina highway.
The money will come from Serbia’s current budget reserve and will be transferred through the government’s General Secretariat as a grant for the infrastructure project, according to a decision published in Serbia’s Official Gazette.
The highway is intended to provide a faster transportation connection between Serbia and the northeastern Bosnian city of Bijeljina, located in Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two largely autonomous entities.
Part of a Larger Belgrade-Sarajevo Route
The Rača-Bijeljina section forms part of a broader highway project connecting Belgrade with Sarajevo.
On the Serbian side of the border, the route runs from the Kuzmin interchange to Sremska Rača. The approximately 11-mile section includes a new bridge across the Sava River and links the project to the existing Belgrade-Zagreb highway.
The section between Rača and Bijeljina is approximately 12 miles long and is part of the planned Vukosavlje-Brčko-Bijeljina-Rača highway. That larger route is expected to cover roughly 43 miles once completed.
The road is being designed as a modern divided highway, with two traffic lanes in each direction, emergency lanes and a central median.
Project Has Faced Delays
Construction of the Serbian section has been described as being in its final phase, although its planned opening has been postponed several times.
Serbian officials most recently said they expect the Kuzmin-Sremska Rača section and the new Sava River bridge to be completed by October 2026. Earlier announcements had projected completion by the end of 2025 or the middle of 2026.
Work is also continuing on the Bosnian side of the border. A Bosnian-Serbian consortium was awarded a contract worth approximately €132 million in 2022 to design and construct the Bijeljina-Rača section.
Serbia Has Previously Helped Finance the Highway
This is not Serbia’s first financial contribution to the project.
In March 2025, Serbia provided another grant of approximately €10 million for the Rača-Bijeljina section. Serbia also financed construction of the bridge over the Sava River and has planned an integrated border crossing on its side of the frontier.
Supporters say the completed highway will reduce travel times, improve the movement of goods and create a stronger road connection between Serbia, Republika Srpska and other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The road is also expected to connect with Bosnia’s Corridor Vc transportation network, strengthening regional links between Belgrade, Bijeljina, Brčko, Banja Luka and Sarajevo.
