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Bridge to the Pelješac peninsula
Photo: ELVIS BARUKCIC / AFP
Work has been going on on the project since 2007, and the new connection off the coast of Dalmatia is now largely complete: a two-and-a-half-kilometer bridge will open in Croatia on Tuesday evening, connecting the southern Adriatic coast around Dubrovnik with the rest of the country.
The bridge to Croatia's Pelješac peninsula bypasses a narrow strip of Bosnian territory that lies between the Croatian coast further north and the part around Dubrovnik.
Its opening should also boost tourism in Croatia, which had collapsed due to the corona pandemic.
Because travelers by car on their way to the tourism stronghold of Dubrovnik no longer have to drive via Bosnia.
Since Bosnia is not part of the EU, commuters and tourists have had to wait a long time at the border crossings.
An approximately 20-kilometer stretch of coast on the Adriatic Sea belongs to Bosnia-Herzegovina because the country wanted its own access to the sea during the peace negotiations to end the civil war in former Yugoslavia.
This separates Dubrovnik and its hinterland from the rest of Croatia.
The bridge had been under construction since 2007 and was completed with EU and Chinese funds.
The costs were estimated at 418 million euros, 85 percent of which was paid by the EU.
The bridge was built by the Chinese state-owned company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
China has been involved in Southeast European countries for years.
The countries of the Balkans are considered a strategically important gateway for Beijing to Europe and an important transport route to Central Europe.
mmq/dpa/AFP
