GIZ ORF-EE signs MoU on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan with City of Sarajevo and Canton Sarajevo

The City of Sarajevo, the Ministry of Transport of Canton Sarajevo and the GIZ Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE) signed  yesterday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Development of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), formalizing their collaboration and implementation of the ORF-EE project on sustainable urban mobility.

The MoU on the development of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan was signed by Minister Adnan Šteta, the Deputy City Mayor, Milan Trivić and the ORF-EE Sector Fund Manager, Joachim Gaube.

As the signatories pointed out at the event, the SUMP will serve to meet the need for improved mobility of people and businesses in Sarajevo and the surrounding areas, aiming for a general improvement of quality of life of citizens. It will cover the territory of Canton Sarajevo, i.e. four city municipalities, Center, Stari Grad, Novi Grad and Novo Sarajevo, including urban areas of municipalities of Ilidža, Vogošća, Ilijaš, Trnovo and Hadžići.

Guests were greeted by Joachim Gaube who pointed out the importance of sound and comprehensive city planning. The ceremony also featured a presentation on the second phase of the ORF-EE project “Sustainable Urban Mobility in South-East European Countries” (SUMSEEC II) by Julia Nagel, ORF-EE Project Manager. Nagel explained that the SUMP will be developed within the framework of the project and that further activities will include public awareness raising and partner capacity building measures, as well as the implementation of a demonstrative small-scale project.

“The SUMSEEC II project, in a certain way, announces a new time for Sarajevo and provides a link to current European trends and politics,” Milan Trivić said. “With the help of the ORF-EE, Sarajevo will receive knowledge on the subject of sustainable urban mobility, which is the most important development resource of the 21st century. The city will also be able to establish strong cooperation with major cities in the region and receive the opportunity to exchange experiences, including knowledge on the latest sector trends, which will benefit the transformation of Sarajevo’s transport planning,” he added.

Minister Šteta stated on the occasion: “All of us who live in Sarajevo are unfortunately witnesses that the public transport system is in a poor state. Improvement of the transport system and many other aspects will be our focus during this collaboration, in the long run, aiming for the development of a comprehensive and effective sector strategy.”

Šteta also used the opportunity to thank the GIZ and the German Government for their support.

Development of the SUMP will be coordinated by the Ministry of Traffic in cooperation with ORF-EE, who will put together a working group for SUMP development, made up of representatives from the cantonal Ministry of Traffic and Ministry of Spatial Planning, the Development Planning Institute of Canton Sarajevo and the City of Sarajevo, as well as other sector-relevant institutions, the academia and NGO sector.