Skip to main content

Tender evaluation nears for Croatia’s Peljeski Bridge Project

Croatia’s roads agency Hrvatske Ceste will soon start evaluating tenders for the controversial Peljeski Bridge project, according to national media. Bids for construction of the four-lane 2.4km long bridge have been submitted by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, Austria's Strabag as well as consortia headed by Italy’s Astaldi and the Turkish company Ictas. The bridge will connect Croatian territory by traversing the Adriatic Sea’s Mali Ston Bay.
September 22, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Croatia’s roads agency Hrvatske Ceste will soon start evaluating tenders for the controversial Peljeski Bridge project, according to national media.

Bids for construction of the four-lane 2.4km long bridge have been submitted by the 3366 China Road and Bridge Corporation, Austria's 945 Strabag as well as consortia headed by Italy’s 1324 Astaldi and the Turkish company Ictas.

The bridge will connect Croatian territory by traversing the Adriatic Sea’s Mali Ston Bay. Vehicles must currently head from Croatia into Bosnia to re-enter a peninsula that is Croatian territory.

While the bridge will be good for the economy of the Croatian area, Bosnia and Herzegovina has in the past requested that Croatia pause procurement for the project pending discussions between the two countries over the design.

Bosnia’s concern is that the largest ocean-going ships should have access up Ston Bay to Bosnia’s only sea port, Neum, should the Bosnian government decide to upgrade the terminals there.

Discussions have resulted in Croatia accepting design changes – and added costs - suggested by Bosnia, including an increase of bridge's height from 35m to 55m and spacing bridge supports at least 200m apart.

In June, the 2465 European Commission approved €357 million of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy funds to build the bridge – around 85% of the project’s cost. The European Union is also funding supporting infrastructure, such as the construction of access roads, including tunnels, bridges and viaducts, the building of an 8km-long bypass near the town of Ston and upgrading works on the existing road D414. Project completion is set for 20122.

Croatia's prime minister, Andrej Plenkovic, has consistently said that the project will not jeopardise the interests of Bosnia.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Major Europe-Asia bridge connection in Turkey
    July 1, 2014
    The 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway will improve transport links between Europe and Asia and cut chronic congestion in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city - Mike Woof reports Work is now well underway on the 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway, providing a new link for Turkish city Istanbul and the region as a whole. This enormous bridge and highway project is breaking several records for Turkey in terms of scale, as well as setting a number of international records for e
  • Work soon to start on Bosnia’s Hranjen Tunnel
    February 27, 2019
    Work is expected to start soon on Bosnia’s Hranjen Tunnel, part of the future Goražde-to-Sarajevo highway. Gorazde Emir Okovic, head of the Podrinje Canton, told Bosnian media despite recent poor weather construction of the road is proceeding. Cost of the six-kilometre double-tube tunnel will be around €92 million with phase one amounting to nearly €36 million. The tunnel will cut the journey between the two towns from 95km to 56km and the time from 90 minutes to 45 minutes.
  • Consultation soon for Vancouver area’s Massey Tunnel replacement
    September 19, 2019
    The Canadian province of British Columbia could put options for a Massey Tunnel replacement out to consultation late this year or early next. A statement from the BC ministry of transportation and infrastructure said the government is in discussions with various stakeholders about which options it will put out for consultation. Whatever option is chosen to replace the ageing four-lane Massey Tunnel – be it a bridge or another tunnel – it will be will be either six or eight lanes, according to the gove
  • Croatia bridge tender process commencing
    June 22, 2016
    The tender process is commencing in Croatia for a major bridge project. The new Peljeski Bridge construction project is expected to cost some €526 million. Some of the financing required for the bridge will be provided by the EU, which is supplying €330 million, around 70% of the funding needed for the work. Once the bridge opens to traffic, it will provide an important transport link for Croatia, connecting road links to the Adriatic Coastline. The work is planned to be carried out in four separate phases,