The Federal Ministry of Communications and Transport’s road authority, Autoceste FBiH, announced on 2 November a third public procurement process to appoint a firm that will review the main design of the first segment of the planned Orašje‑Tuzla highway, which will run from the Sava River near Orašje to the entrance of Tuzla, covering roughly 61 kilometres. The tender, posted on the e‑Nabavke portal under reference 266‑1‑2‑163‑3‑346/26, invites submissions until 23 November at 10:00 a.m. at the agency’s headquarters in Mostar; the bids will be opened the same day at 10:30 a.m. The award will be based on the lowest price, with the contract value for the revision estimated at 250 000 KM (excluding VAT).

The need for a new tender follows two earlier procurement rounds that did not succeed. The first tender, issued on 29 September 2025, received four offers—from IPSA Institute in Sarajevo, the Institute for Construction IG in Banja Luka, the Routing and Geokonzalting group, and a joint proposal from Integra and Divel. All were rejected because the bidders failed to meet the required economic and financial capacity, leading to the cancellation of the procedure on 10 February 2026. A second tender for the same scope was opened in May 2026, but no bids were received, prompting its cancellation on 26 August 2026.

The current tender seeks a reviewer who will verify that the main project complies with all applicable regulations and technical standards. This verification is a prerequisite for issuing the construction permit, and the reviewer must be independent from the design firm; the same company cannot act as designer, reviewer, and supervisor on the same project. The selected reviewer will have up to 18 months—or until the issuance of a completion certificate—to finish the work. Bidders must provide guarantees for both the bid and the contract execution, and all project documentation must be submitted to the Traffic Maintenance and Control Centre in Zvirći, near Bijača.

The design of the overall highway is already under way. In September 2026, the agency awarded the concept and main‑project design to the Mostar‑based firm Integra, which submitted a bid of 1 735 514 KM (without VAT). Of six proposals received for the design, only Integra’s and a competing offer from Divel in Sarajevo were deemed acceptable. The total cost for the concept and main project is estimated at 2 5 million KM, while the separate revision of the main project is budgeted at 250 000 KM.

Construction of the Orašje‑Tuzla route has yet to receive a start date. Before any works can commence, the revised main project must be approved, all necessary permits obtained, and a separate tender for the construction contractor must be launched. The highway is expected to enhance regional connectivity, linking the northern Bosnian corridor with the industrial centre of Tuzla and improving access to the Brčko District.

Stakeholders, including local businesses and transport operators, are closely watching the tender outcome, as the timely completion of the revision could accelerate the overall project timeline and stimulate economic activity in the surrounding municipalities.

Sources (learn more):

avaz.ba — https://avaz.ba/vijesti/biznis/1085041/dva-tendera-propala-raspisan-i-treci-prva-dionica-autoceste-orasje-tuzla-jos-ceka-reviziju-projekta