November 18 (SeeNews) - The motorway company of Bosnia's Federation entity, Autoceste FBiH, said that the breakthrough of the southern Pocitelj tunnel, part of European transport corridor Vc, has been completed four months ahead of schedule.
The breakthrough of the left pipe of the Pocitelj tunnel marked the completion of the boring of the tunnel, Autoceste FBiH said in a press release on Tuesday.
Last month, the breakthrough of the 1,163-metre long right pipe of the Pocitelj tunnel took place.
The works have now entered the second phase including the construction of concrete linings, a drainage system, hydro insulation, a second concrete lining, and central drainage canal excavation. The completion deadline for the second concrete lining is June 2021.
The tunnel is part of the 11.75-km Pocitelj-Zvirovici motorway section worth an estimated 100 million euro ($117.6 million).
China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) launched the construction of the Pocitelj - Zvirovici section in November. The subcontractor of the works on the Pocitelj tunnel is Bosnian company Euro-Asfalt.
The construction of the Pocitelj-Zvirovici section is financed by a 100 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a 5 million euro grant by the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).
European Corridor Vc connects the port of Ploce in Croatia with Hungarian capital Budapest via Bosnia.
($ = 0.850652 euro)