June 25 (SeeNews) - The construction of the Peljesac bridge is expected to begin in the middle of July, Croatia's transport minister Oleg Butkovic said on Monday.
"A contract has been signed and funds have been secured, this is the first phase. The second phase is access roads. The value of the works of this phase is 450 million kuna ($71.1 million/60.8 million euro) and Hrvatske Ceste are currently reviewing the bids received in the tender for these works," Butkovic said in a radio show aired by public broadcaster HRT.
The third and fourth phases include the construction of a bypass, roads on Peljesac and another smaller bridge, all of which including the main project must be completed by 2023, Butkovic noted.
Croatian motorway operator Hrvatske Ceste signed in April a 2.08 billion kuna deal for the construction of the Peljesac bridge with a Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation.
State-owned Hrvatske Ceste at the time also signed a contract for the supervision of construction works on the bridge with local civil engineering company Institut IGH [ZSE:IGH].
In January, Hrvatske Ceste selected the Chinese consortium, comprising also CCCC Highway Consultants Co. Ltd., CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co. Ltd. and CCCC Second Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd, for the Peljesac bridge construction.
The Peljesac bridge will connect the peninsula of the same name with the rest of mainland Croatia over the Adriatic, providing an alternative route to crossing the Neum Corridor - a strip of the Adriatic coastline situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina between these two parts of Croatia.
The Peljesac bridge will be 55 m high and 2.4 km long, with four lanes.
(1 euro=7.39704 kuna)