A consortium of Chinese companies will lend $190m to Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s autonomous Serbian province, to build a highway toward Serbia, Reuters reports.

The 17km road will run between Brcko and Bijeljina, near the Serbian border.

It will be designed and built by China Overseas Engineering and China Tiesiju Civil Engineering, with backing from the China Construction Bank.

Republika Srpska prime minister Radovan Viskovic said the deal-signing yesterday was “a big day” for his country.

The road will improve communications with Serbia, Republika Srpska’s main ally and trading partner.

The republic turned to Chinese investors after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development declined to support the project.

The 15-year loan will have a three-year grace period and a five-year guarantee, said Viskovic.

In August 2022, the government signed a $350m deal with China State Construction Engineering to build a 33km section of the same highway in northern Bosnia.