Bosnia’s Republika Srpska halts all projects with China over coronavirus trade restrictions

By bne IntelliNews March 10, 2020

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska has temporarily put on hold all projects with companies from China due to trade difficulties following the coronavirus outbreak.

The move was announced by Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, N1 reported.

He added that the consequences of the virus on the global economy would be dramatic.

Republika Srpska relies heavily on investments from China and has picked Chinese companies for several important projects, including the construction of hydropower plants on the Drina river and the motorway between Banja Luka and Prijedor. 

Several sectors of the Bosnian economy are already suffering from the restrictions related to the coronavirus outbreak, mainly the tourism and transport sectors. Local economists expect that companies will be forced to stop operations until the virus stops spreading globally.

Meanwhile, Bosnia has also reported the first cases of coronavirus, all of them located in Republika Srpska.

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