Construction of Croatia's Peljesac bridge put on hold over tender trouble

"The tender for the works on Peljesac bridge has not been suspended, rather the tender for the selection of a construction supervisor has been put on hold. These are two separate things, but one can't go without the other", Oleg Butkovic told the media in Zagreb on Wednesday.

"We can not make a selection and start building the bridge until we have a decision on the supervisor," Butkovic told the media in a statement aired by local broadcasters.

He said he could not name the bidding party that has lodged the complaint, but noted that it is a company with zero employees and an equity capital of 10 kuna ($1.6/1.3 euro).

"It's all a bit odd", Butkovic said.

News daily Jutarnji.hr reported on Wednesday that the company in question is Zagreb-based Lipov Gaj and that it has lodged the appeal.

Mid-2017, an agreement was signed to grant a total of 420.3 million euro ($495.6 million) to Croatian state-owned motorway company Hrvatske Ceste (HC) for the construction of the Peljesac bridge after the European Commission said earlier it is allocating its share of 357 million euro of cohesion policy funds to the project. The EU is covering 85% of the cost of the project from its cohesion policy funds, while the government is granting 15% to HC for the construction of the bridge, which will connect the southernmost part of the country and Dubrovnik to the rest of mainland Croatia.
The Peljesac bridge will be 55 m high and 2.4 km long, with four lanes.

The works are expected to be completed in 2022.

The bridge has been planned since 2007 but political bickering has delayed construction works several times. Bosnia has also voiced concerns that the bridge may disrupt its access to international waters.

(1 euro=7.53564 kuna)