Construction company promises that the Čiovo Bridge will be ready for the next tourist season.
At a meeting in Trogir with representatives of the Croatian Roads public company and Minister of Transport Oleg Butković, the Viadukt construction company gave a guarantee that the bridge which will connect the island of Čiovo and the mainland will be completed by 15 June, reports Jutarnji List on December 7, 2016.
Joško Mikulić, the CEO of Viadukt, confirmed after the meeting that they had given the guarantee for the completion of the bridge and had a fruitful and lengthy meeting in which they discussed the situation. “We have solved all the problems and disagreements, and the bridge will be completed by 15 June”, said Mikulić.
He pointed out that the construction of the bridge has lagged due to financial problems of the steel industry in the region. The problem has been solved and necessary additional works will be completed at one of Croatian shipyards. He added that the contract for the additional works would be signed next week, when the name of the shipyard which got the contract would be revealed.
Transport Minister Oleg Butković said that the solution to the problem was possible and feasible, and that Viadukt has ten days to delivered to the Croatian Roads new contracts signed with Croatian subcontractors. “At this point, I have no reason not to believe them, but we will see in ten days. We will come to Trogir again in early January and see what has been done”, he said, adding that he would monitor the situation weekly. Asked whether there would be consequences if the latest agreement was not respected, he said that in that case the government would have to terminate the contract and announce a new tender.
“We want to complete this project which has been financed by the European Union in the amount of 85 percent. This is a test for Croatia and the way it implements European projects, and therefore we have to pass that test”, concluded the Minister.
He also announced that the Trogir-Split road would be completed by 1 May, and that the project of the road to Omiš was being prepared, with implementation starting during the term of the current government. The cost of building the Čiovo Bridge, whose construction began in February 2015, is slightly higher than 207 million kuna, of which 176.7 million kuna is being co-financed from EU funds. The bridge will be 547 meters long, it will be 25 metres above sea level, and it will have 13 pillars in the sea and two pillars on land – one on the Čiovo side and the other on the Trogir side on the mainland.
In addition to the bridge, access road in the length of 1,818 metres will also be built. The construction of the bridge has been accompanied by numerous problems and delays.
