Turkish development agency, firm restore historical bridge in Bosnia

A bridge on the Drina river at the eastern border of Bosnia&Herzegovina and Serbia have been restored with the help of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and the Turkish construction company ER-BU. "The Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Bridge is very important for Bosnians and also for Turkey because it is the legacy of Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan," restorer Mehtap Ekici from ER-BU said. "Plan is to finish the restoration by the August next year", said Ekici, adding that representatives of ER-BU arrived in Bosnia on 1 April this year. The value of the restoration project is estimated at nearly ten million Bosnian Marks. Geographic location of the bridge -- on the Drina river that borders Bosnia from Serbia -- as well as its history have a great significance for the Bosniaks. The bridge -- both during the Second World War and the Bosnian War -- was used as an execution ground where bodies were then thrown into the river. Director of the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina Amor Mašovi? told the Anadolu Agency that "the Drina is the biggest mass grave in the Balkans." Turkish construction company ER-BU previously also carried out the restoration of the Old Bridge in Mostar, which was destroyed in the Bosnian War.