Explosive ordnance and remnants of war destruction (EXPLODE) project was officially launched today in Doboj. The 3,837,830 Euro project that will run until 2015 is financed by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Nations Development Programme and the OSCE Mission to BiH.

Today, there are over 17,000 tons of military ammunition surpluses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The risk of uncontrolled explosion of much of this stock is high, which represents a constant danger to civilians living in the proximity of the storage sites and to the soldiers who are guarding them.

The EXPLODE project will help BiH Armed Forces decrease their ammunition stockpiles to manageable quantities, and will support the BiH Defense Ministry in raising efficiency of the stockpile management, enhancing safety and improving storage conditions.

Holger Schroeder, Head of Operations at the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “Together with this project, the EU will have contributed more than 8 million € to the improved safety and security of BiH citizens over the past years. We expect that the EXPLODE project will result in a reduction of unstable and surplus ammunition by an estimated 6,000 tons. It will be ensured that this ammunition is destroyed in a controlled manner, with full respect for environment and safety standards.”

Zekerijah Osmić, Minister of Defense of BiH, said: ”Such a prompt response by the international community to the Ministry’s request for assistance points out to a very constructive and progressive role and contribution of the EU, the OSCE, the UNDP and EUFOR in creating improved and safe environment for all citizens in BiH. It also demonstrates the readiness to financially assist BiH given the fact that the country could not support such endeavor from its limited operational budget.”

Zahira Virani, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. stated: “Human security is one of the key areas of UNDP’s work and with the Project EXPLODE we aim to prevent loss of lives or infrastructure damages that uncontrolled explosions of ammunition can cause. We will help the Ministry of Defense in acting preemptively and minimizing the danger to the people”

Acting Head of OSCE Mission to BiH, Nina Suomalainen, said: “We will be working in partnership with UNDP on improving safety at ammunition storage sites. This will help protect the BiH Armed Force personnel working at storage sites, the local communities in the vicinity of these sites, and the environment from the potentially destructive effects of an accidental explosion.”

The EXPLODE project is funded by the European Union in the amount of 3.837.830,00 Euro from the Instrument for Stability (IfS) for the duration of 28 months.

See photos of the project here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGq1fu9

Additional information about the Project can be found in the Info sheet available at www.mod.gov.ba