On 24 September 2007, the new border crossing in Samac was officially opened for traffic by Dr. Nikola Spiric, President of the Council of Ministers of BiH; Ambassador Dimitris Kourkoulas, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to BiH and Mr. Kemal Causevic, Director of the BiH Indirect Taxation Administration.
The European Union has provided over 34.5 Million Euro of funding for the construction of border crossings throughout BiH as part of the CARDS programme. The EU invested over 3.8 million Euro in the Samac facility.
The new border crossing facility consists of a central building for customs and police, buildings for inspection services, vehicle verification and commercial purposes. It consists of six passenger and two cargo access tracks serviced by fourteen control booths.
Mr. Causevic welcomed the distinguished guests and stated that he has had the honour to open seven new EU-funded border crossing facilities over the past three years, with others planned.
Ambassador Kourkoulas stressed that the EU supports the construction of border crossings in BiH as an important effort to help BiH fiscally, because adequate border control of goods and passengers helps obtain optimal revenue from Customs. However, he added that he hopes that in a few years time these facilities will become obsolete, once the countries of the Western Balkans have joined the European Union.
Dr. Spiric admired the state-of-the-art facilities, which cover an area of 30,000 m2, and highlighted the fact that all monies spent during its construction remained in-country as all the workmen engaged and materials used were domestic.
After ceremoniously cutting the ribbon and thus marking the opening of the border crossing, the assembly visited the related installations.
