The closing ceremony of the EU-funded project “Cycling Through History – Revitalisation of the Old Narrow Gauge Railway Ćiro” took place on 15 December 2016 in Ravno.
Massimo Mina, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Co-operation at the EU Delegation to BiH noted that the project has gone beyond just the cycling tourism by supporting an innovative concept of sustainable development, including environmental concerns and rural development.
“The project has opened the possibilities for public private partnerships, with potential to generate employment and new revenues from the tourism sector. It has also resulted in discovery of the bat colony at the Čvaljina tunnel and contributed to the proper integration of such an important site into the cycling trail,” Mina said.
He has also reminded that over the past 2 years, the project has delivered important recommendations on tourism development along the old ‘Ćiro’ railway route. “It is a good example of how much can be made when proper synergies are created among all partners with the aim to promote tourism development in-country and across the borders,” Mina concluded.
Ana Soldo, Director of the Public Company ‘Vjetrenica – Popovo polje’ emphasised the importance of the recognizable tourism offer in the cross-border area with a variety of natural heritages along the cycling route.
“The whole cycling trail, the old railway is, in a way, an outdoor museum. It starts in Gabela, crossing the Nature Park Hutovo Blato, through the beautiful karstic phenomenon Popovo field, alongside the Vjetrenica cave and the Zavala Monastery all the way to Konavle in Croatia,” Soldo said.
Total value of the project financed within the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Croatia-BiH is 350,660.47 EUR out of which the EU contributed around EUR 300,000. The two-year project aimed to contribute to integration of the economy in the bordering regions of Dubrovnik-Neretva and Herzegovina through development of the new joint tourism offer. The objectives were also to revitalize the old narrow gauge railway ‘Ćiro’ between Mostar and Konavle through establishment of a bicycle trail as the new joint tourist product with clear identity and image, together with increasing quantity and quality of tourism offer and tourism services in the bordering regions of Dubrovnik-Neretva and Herzegovina.
Among the other results, the project has delivered important recommendations on tourism development along the old “ĆIRO” railway route, collected documentary material about the old narrow gauge “ĆIRO” railway, established cross-border cycling route over 38 km long, completed proper signalisation of the route, constructed 16 resting places along the route, performed GPS mapping and QR code signalisation, and many more.
More info available on the project website: http://www.ciro.herzegovinabike.ba/
