China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) will lead a consortium that will build a major bridge in Croatia after it won an international race to the infrastructure project.
Croatian Roads announced the decision after the Chinese consortium submitted a bid of around US$330 million (excluding VAT) which beat off competition from Austrian and Turkish consortiums, despite the fact that the latter body’s each reportedly offered higher sums.
The 2.4km beam and cable-stayed Peljesac bridge and its connected access roads is one of the largest planned infrastructure projects in Croatian history and has been declared one of exceptional importance to the nation.
Once completed, the bridge will allow drivers to avoid a detour into neighbouring Bosnia by connecting an isolated Croatian peninsula with the mainland, connecting key tourist destination cities Split and Dubrovnik.
The allocation of the construction contract to the Chinese consortium represents a vital breakthrough for the project, which has been in the offing for two decades.
