With the installation of the GNSS Reference Station Network BiHPOS, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) sets the preconditions for a modern approach to accurate land measuring and land parceling. The European Union financed network consists of 34 reference stations and two control centers, a unique installation that brings together two regions in BiH.
BiHPOS actually consists of two GNSS networks due to the special ethnical and regional situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina: FBIHPOS covers the part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas SRPOS is the network for the Republic of Srpska, 17 stations in each entity. The two Control Centers each connect 25 stations: 17 from the own territory and another eight from the opposing Control Center.
“The cooperation between all involved parties, the European Union, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the local sub-contractor Vekom, and Leica Geosystems, worked perfectly. We were very proud when we were reassured during the inauguration ceremony that it was one of the best EU projects ever carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, states Sepp Englberger, the responsible project coordinator at Leica Geosystems.
The ceremony was attended by Ambassador Peter Sorensen, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Union Special Representative; Sredoje Nović, MS, Minister of Civil Affairs; Željko Obradović, Grad. Geod. Eng.Director of Federal Administration for Geodetic and Real Property Affairs of FBiH; and Tihomir Gligorić, PhD, Director of Republic Administration for Geodetic and Real Property Affairs of RS, who all underlined the importance of this project.
BiHPOS is the first phase of a spatial information services project initiated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is the administrative institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina responsible for the coordination of all geodetic and geodesy-connected activities on state level. The project primarily aims at the creation of improved conditions for legal and land administration, but also the heavily developing real-estate market and enhanced spatial planning. “BiHPOS now sets the preconditions for accurate measuring and land parceling. With the Leica Geosystems GNSS reference station technology, (re-)registration of land owners as well as updating and eliminating inconsistencies in the land books and cadastre in municipal administrations and local courts brings Bosnia and Herzegovina a huge step forward”, says Veljko Fuštić, Director of Vekom, who coordinated the project locally, supported by Project Manager Nicolas de Moegen from Leica Geosystems.
BiHPOS, with its 34 Leica Geosystems GNSS reference stations, now also provides services for precise and reliable 3D positioning and navigation. It was realized in accordance of highest international standards and recommendations in this area and as such offers benefits to a broad user community – cadastral and mapping agencies, land registration and governmental agencies, infrastructural and facilities companies, education institutions, GIS users and much more.
