Progress on the Southern Gas Interconnection project between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia remains uncertain because several key administrative and legal steps required for implementation have not been completed. A 30-day deadline expired on 25 May for signing an agreement between the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the US-based company AAFS. Unresolved issues are continuing to slow the process.
The agreement is expected to cover outstanding matters, including procedures related to obtaining urban planning permits. Significant uncertainties remain, particularly concerning how state property issues will be treated, which continues to complicate the approval process. With these elements still pending, implementation timelines remain unclear.
Urban planning approvals and technical documentation delays
Available information indicates that a government commission responsible for technical assessments tied to urban planning approval for the interconnection pipeline has not submitted the required expert documentation to the Federal Parliament. This delay is described as a key bottleneck in the institutional approval chain. The missing documentation affects progress through the formal parliamentary process.
In parallel, institutions involved in the project have reportedly not received formal requests to amend project documentation that would remove BH-Gas from the initiative. The same reported gap concerns officially designating AAFS as the new project operator. This lack of formal requests contributes to uncertainty over governance and project ownership.
Interstate agreement status affecting legal basis
A major obstacle remains the still-unratified interstate agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The agreement is described as a fundamental precondition for further project development. Without it, the legal basis for advancing the pipeline remains incomplete.
Pending administrative tasks, unresolved legal questions, and ongoing political procedures are together creating significant uncertainty over whether the contract can be finalized within the expected timeframe. Earlier expectations that construction could be completed by the end of 2027 now appear increasingly difficult in light of incomplete regulatory procedures.
