SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) extended two loans worth a total of 47.6 million euros (42.76 million pounds) to Bosnia on Thursday for the construction of a section of a north-to-south pan-European highway which passes through the country.

The 17.7-kilometre section from Nemila to Donja Gracanica in central Bosnia is part of the Corridor VC connecting Budapest in the north and the Croatian port of Ploce in the south.

OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish said the fund would next month discuss a further 50 million euro loan for the construction of a motorway connecting the Bosnian capital Sarajevo with the eastern town of Gorazde.

Bosnia’s Transportation Minister Ismir Jusko said that Bosnia has secured 1.2 billion euros for infrastructure projects since 2016 when it adopted a country-wide transportation strategy requested by the European Union.