Is Pelješac Bridge finally nearing its long-awaited, much anticipated beginning?
As DuList reports on the 20th of September, 2017, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, has announced that the beginning of the construction of Pelješac Bridge will start by the end of this year.
He also commented on the dispute over the project with neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina during his appearance on Croatian Radio. From the Bosniak ranks in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the attempts to block the construction of the bridge were commented on by Safet Softić.
''I think this issue should be a rational one. I think our neighbours and friends in Bosnia and Herzegovina need to understand the need for the Republic of Croatia to unite its territory, which is also European territory. The facts show that none of the rights [enjoyed by] Bosnia and Herzegovina have been compromised at all'' stated Minister Butković.
''I don't see it as a matter of politics. It's the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An issue which encroaches upon [the question of] the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The issues of Bosnia and Herzegovina's access to the open sea and all the rest of it are contained in that fact,'' said Safet Softić from the Bosnian side of the ongoing argument.
The construction of, and the mere idea of Pelješac Bridge has been in the works for many years and has faced an unexpected amount of interruptions, obstacles and bumps in the road from all imaginable angles.
Now that the Republic of Croatia has successfully secured funding from the European Union and the green light to begin constructing the bridge, which would unarguably be the biggest and most significant strategic project for the country to date, many issues have arisen from Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely from certain Bosnian political figures who believe that the construction of the bridge undermines the country, despite Bosnia and Herzegovina's own Justice Minister having personally written to Oleg Butković to assure him that there are indeed no legal problems regarding the eventual construction of the bridge.
