A Chinese consortium has recently been selected for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge.
When even the optimists began to doubt that Croatia would ever make use of the EU funds and start the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, it was announced that the job had been given to the Chinese state-owned consortium CRBC. And it became clear why the Croatian government deliberated for four months after receiving bids before it selected the contractor, reports Večernji List on January 14, 2018.
Until now, when it comes to possible jobs with China, Brussels usually sent warnings to Croatia, so the government had to pass through the European Commission’s filter. Now that the Chinese have won the job, there is information that EU consortiums actively lobbied against the decision and tried to prevent the Chinese from winning the tender, but Croatia obviously refused to relent under pressure. It would not be possible for the government to explain why the job should not be given to a company which wants to do it 600 million kuna cheaper than the next least expensive bidder. Also, the Chinese will do the job in three years, while other bidders wanted to do it in three and a half years.
For the Chinese consortium, the construction of a 2.4-kilometre long bridge and connecting roads is indeed nothing special compared to the projects that have worked on so far, with some of the spans longer than 30 kilometres. However, this was an important tender for the Chinese as well, because this is the first time they had applied to a significant EU competition and won. Until now, they insisted on getting jobs without a tender. With this job, the Chinese are opening the doors to the EU for their construction industry.
Given the reputation of the Chinese and their construction industry, Croatia can be sure that they will fulfil their commitments and build the bridge in time. Interestingly, analysts estimate that this job will be barely profitable for the Chinese, but China apparently has its own interest in it. The selection will help Croatia politically as well since the neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina will probably stop making problems and complain that the bridge cannot be built before the border between the two countries is settled.
We can expect that the project will be just the start of a period of improved relations between China and Croatia since it is certain that the Chinese ambitions will not stop here. The Chinese are reportedly interesting in upgrading the Port of Rijeka and the construction of the Rijeka-Zagreb-Budapest railway line. Also, it could be expected that the Chinese will offer, after the Pelješac Bridge is constructed, to complete the Adriatic-Ionian motorway, which has currently reached Ploče. China could be prepared to finance the construction of the motorway to Montenegro, and then to Albania and Greece.
That China has a much broader interest in this region is proven by the fact that it is already taking part in many projects in Montenegro, where it is building a highway, as well as in Serbia where it has financed the construction of a railway line from Belgrade to Budapest. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, China is building a large power station.
All this is part of the long-term Chinese project to establish the so-called new Silk Roads. But, even without major political calculations, every news about additional investments in Croatia is good news.
Translated from Večernji List.
