
Unitic Twin Towers in downtown Sarajevo, destroyed in the war, reconstructed after war

New Avaz Tower constructed on same site where the Oslobodjenje newspaper towers, which were destroyed in the war, once stood.
In the years following the
Bosnian War, there has been a construction boom in
Sarajevo. It is among the cities with the most construction in South-east Europe. The
UNIS Twin Towers, designed by architect
Ivan Straus, were almost totally destroyed in the war, but have been renovated completely. On the site of the
Oslobodjenje Towers, the Avaz towers have now been constructed. In the Hrasno residential area, the Bosnian company Bosmal has constructed the "
Bosmal City Center", one of the tallest twin towers in the Balkans at 120 meters each.
The new owners of the
Holiday Inn Hotel in Sarajevo, also designed by architect Ivan Straus, announced that
as of 2005 they will start construction on a new 22 storey tower. The so-called 'intelligent' tower is expected to cost about 50 million Euro.
The
Avaz Twist Tower will be the new headquarters for
Avaz, the popular
Bosnian
newspaper company.
It’s located in Marin Dvor,
Sarajevo's business district which has recently been totally renovated with the plans for the Unitic 3 and Grand Media Center. The new tower went under construction in
2006 and it is expected to be completed some time in
2008. The Avaz Twist Tower will hold the record for being the
Balkan's
tallest tower and one of the most interesting towers in
Europe. It is made up of a twisting glass
facade and will be 142 meters tall with a 30 meter antenna reaching a total height of 172 meters.
The Bosnian Parliament building (from architect
Juraj Neidhart) is under re-construction, and the Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo's Marin Dvor area is totally renovated.
In Sarajevo's
Ilidza suburb many construction projects which could be considered large by even
EU standards have been started. Examples include a project to build a
cable car to connect to the near by mountains
Igman and
Bjelasnica; a sport complex with swimming pools worth 30 million Euro; and the 'Gardens of Riverina' - city within the city which will cost more than 1 billion Euro over a ten year period.
Last year, one section of the future European motorway corridor 5C was constructed and opened for traffic near Sarajevo. Soon the Federal government will start construction on a new 40 km long motorway section from Sarajevo to
Zenica. The construction of the whole 330 km of 5C will start in spring 2006, worth approximately 3 billion euros.
Bjelasnica and Igman Olympic Mountains resorts will soon be privatized and totally reconstructed.
See also
★
Bosnian architecture