On 3 April 2015, the Mayor of Derventa, Mayor, Milorad Simić opened the newly completed bridge in the village of LUCANI, also present were EUFOR’s Deputy Chief of Staff Capacity Building and Training, Colonel Hakar Soner Aplak, representatives of the Armed Forces of BiH and a number of local residents.
The bridge was built, with material funded by the EU Floods Recovery Program, by 14 BiH Armed Forces engineers from Derventa as part of the EUFOR Capacity, Building and Training programme.
EU Floods Recovery Program
Construction of the bridge was the final stage of a 3 week Bridge Building Course delivered by a EUFOR Mobile Training Team of engineering specialists, 7 from Austria and 3 from Slovenia. To mark the end of the course Colonel Aplak presented certificates to the students on the course.
Dual use of force is an economic way to run an Army
Colonel Aplak when asked about EUFOR’s role in the project said “This has once again been an opportunity for the Armed Forces BiH and EUFOR soldiers to work together. This bridge is an excellent example of how these skilled military personnel can have a dual use and a direct and immediate impact on improving citizens’ lives whilst supporting local communities.