Pelješac Bridge construction is the largest infrastructural project currently taking place in Croatia, but it’s also among the biggest in the European Union at the moment. Add to that the fact that the Chinese consortium, led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), mostly state-owned company has been awarded the contract to build the bridge – for the first time in the European Union, and you shouldn’t be surprised that the story is interesting even outside Croatia.
Večernji list writes about the construction site being visited these days by journalists from Italian Corriere della Sera, and their colleagues from the BBC are expected in a few days. Financial Times and the Washington Post have already written about the project, as have, of course, most Chinese media.
Western media focus on the fact that this is one of the first major projects financed by the EU awarded to the Chinese company, and how not everyone in the EU is thrilled by that fact. Financial Times gives more emphasis on the strong objections to the construction of the Pelješac bridge by the Bosniaks from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also explain why it’s important for Croatia to have the bridge built as soon as possible.
Swiss public radio broadcaster also did a story about the bridge construction, as an example of the Chinese companies that simply don’t have any further large infrastructure projects back home, so they need to focus on the foreign markets – and Europe is the next one to be conquered for them. The journalists are curious about the technical specifications and details about the construction itself, and the work done so far is impressive.
Construction officially kicked off in late July and is to be completed in 36 months. There are some doubts whether the access roads on the Pelješac side will be finished in time, which has nothing to do with the Chinese contractors. All the piles that have arrived at the site have been installed into the ground, including the two permanent ones in late January (following the positive results of the tests performed on the temporary, test piles). Total of 148 piles are expected to be delivered to Komarna construction site by Chinese piling ships and set up. The construction of the foundations of the bridge, piles, and concrete in the foundation is expected to be finished by the end of October this year.
