ZAGREB, 5 March, 2021 - The value of construction work done by companies with at least 20 employees in 2020 rose by 6.8% from 2019, while at the same time the value of new orders fell by 6.9%, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Friday. 

The value of construction work done last year was HRK 27.1 billion, of which HRK 19.1 billion worth of work was performed by companies' own workers and HRK 8 billion worth by subcontractors. The value of new orders was HRK 21.4 billion.

The structure of the work carried out by own workers shows that 30.8% of the work done related to non-residential buildings, 34% to transport infrastructure, 17% to pipelines, communication and energy lines, and 15% to residential buildings.

In the last quarter of 2020, the value of construction work was 3.7% higher than in the same period in 2019, while the value of new orders fell by 19.5%. The value of the work done in Q4 2020 totalled HRK 7.42 billion, of which HRK 5.24 billion accounted for the work done by own workers and HRK 2.17 billion for the work performed by subcontractors.

The value of new orders in the fourth quarter of last year was HRK 5.38 billion, of which HRK 2.47 billion accounted for buildings and HRK 2.84 billion for other structures.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

Coronavirus has been wreaking havoc left, right and centre with just about everything. From travel and tourism and the hospitality industry to the delaying and cancelling of major investments. The infrastructure and construction sector hasn't been immune to the effects of the global pandemic, but despite difficulties, some Croatian projects are still going full steam ahead. The project to upgrade Cres Port is just one of them.

As Morski writes on the 22nd of June, 2020, on Tuesday, June the 23rd, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, will visit the works on the project which involves the full reconstruction and upgrading of the western part of Cres port, after which he will participate in the opening ceremony of the Cres solar power plant.

When it comes to the significant project which involves the reconstruction and extension of the western part of Cres Port, more than half of the planned works were successfully performed, and the activities on the construction site are still continuing in full swing.

The main goal of the project is to improve the infrastructure in the belt of the port basin of Cres port by building a safer and properly arranged pier. This project also marks a continuation of the arrangement of the waterfront on the gorgeous island of Cres, with which it will form a unique spatial and functional unit.

The reconstruction and extension of the western part of Cres Port, worth a massive 34.6 million kuna in total, is a project funded by the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme 2014-2020, as well as being within the project entitled "Renaissance on the Croatian coast" within which the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure has so far invested almost 900 million kuna (with the help of EU funds) in the reconstruction of small ports connecting various Croatian islands.

As stated previously, after touring the works being carried out on Cres Port, Minister Butkovic, together with the Minister of Tourism, Gari Cappelli, will participate in the opening ceremony of the works on the construction of the Cres solar power plant.

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A minimum of 270 new apartments for Zagreb earthquake victims who suffered damage to their homes are planned, along with a garage, a green roof, air conditioning and much more, the City of Zagreb stated, explaining that the entire building will cover approximately 25,500 square metres.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of May, 2020, the new building designed with Zagreb earthquake victims in mind won't become a reality soon, but it will eventually - the tender is ready, they just need to announce it and the new building in Podbrežje can slowly start to ''spring up''.

The plan is for the fifth building in the settlement, which, according to the Zagreb housing model, should boast had a total of eleven building. The city says that the new nine-storey building will initially be exclusively for those who lost their homes in the Zagreb earthquake, according to a report from Vecernji list.

They have prepared the criteria according to which the project documentation of the building called "A11" should be prepared, and next week it should be released for public bidding. It is estimated that the entity who will prepare the documentation will do it for 5.2 million kuna, which is the amount without VAT. An underground garage, a green roof, video surveillance and air conditioning in each apartment are just some of the things the designers will have to come up with and what they will have to find the best solution for.

''The plan is to construct a minimum of 270 apartments,'' they stated from the City Administration, explaining that the entire building will cover approximately 25,500 square metres. Approximately 800 more square metres will be reserved for business premises which, just like in the four currently constructed buildings, will be located on the ground floor of the building.

As far as the distribution of squares is concerned, most will be one-bedroom apartments, more than a third of the total planned, followed by one-and-a-half-bedroom, then two-bedroom, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bedroom and, finally, three-and-a-half-bedroom apartments. To be completely precise, there will be 104 one-bedroom apartments, 77 one-and-a-half-bedroom apartments, 31 with two rooms, 29 with three rooms, while there will be 23 two-and-a-half-room apartments and only six three-and-a-half room ones.

The materials from which the apartments should be built have already been prescribed, meaning that the building's designers need to think about security doors, ceramic tiles in the bathrooms and kitchens, parquet in the rest of the apartment, interior wood and exterior PVC joinery, waterproofing, as well as the partition walls which the City of Zagreb wants to be made of cardboard plaster. All in all, the new or fifth building of the settlement in the neighbourhood behind Siget will look about the same as the previous four, which is not entirely strange, since the plan for the appearance of the neighbourhood was made about six years ago.

When it comes to the question of just how much will these 270 new apartments cost approximately, we can't know the answer to that yet.

''Until the project documentation is ready, which will enable us to announce tenders for contractors, we can't know, but the estimate is around 45 million kuna,'' they stated from the city.

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The Korito tunnel, the first tunnel on the Croatian island of Brač, is a critical portion of an important bypass, and everything could be finished by the beginning of the 2020 tourist season.

In April this year, a contract with the company Strabag d.o.o., worth HRK 32 million, was signed for the construction of a bypass around the town of Ložišća on the island of Brač. As JutarnjiList reports on November 24, 2019; the contractual deadline is 18 months, which means that construction of the tunnel is expected to be complete by late October 2020, Hrvatske ceste (Croatian Roads) reported.

The 1560-meter-long bypass of Ložišća, along with the Korito tunnel, is the most significant construction project ever undertaken on Brač. The tunnel is the first ever built on the island of Brač and the first tunnel being built on Croatian state roads in six years.

The Korito tunnel will be 190 meters long with portal structures and involve 160 meters of excavation. Excavation of the northern precinct of the Korito Tunnel began on August 1, 2019 and the tunnel excavation itself began on September 5.

At the beginning of October, at the end of tourist season, work began on the excavation of the southern portion of the tunnel, which temporarily closed the local road which connects the town of Bobovišća with the rest of the coastal road network. Traffic for this settlement has been diverted to a temporary road in partnership with the town of Milna and Mayor, Fran Lozić. Temporary communal, fire and other services have been set up to operate effectively on this modest-sized detour road. The excavation of the tunnel is being carried out according to conservation guidelines to preserve the church of Gospe od Korita (Our Lady of Korita), which is close-by.

In order to re-open the seaside road to Bobovišća for traffic as soon as possible, completing construction on the southern concrete tunnel portal is the top priority and targeted for end of February 2020.

Work on the rest of the route is progressing well, and an early completion of the contractually agreed deadline is expected. In fact, it’s possible that the road will be in full use for the 2020 tourist season.

Hrvatske ceste, which operates a network of state roads with a total length of 7152 kilometers, is continually investing in the construction and upgrade of roads which connect the islands to the mainland. They are also improving the transport infrastructure of the islands, which is important for locals throughout the entire year and for tourists during the summer months.

Here is a video of the Korito tunnel project from Hrvatske Ceste:

And a recent aerial video of Ložišća on the island of Brač:

More information on Hrvatske Ceste (Croatian Roads) projects can be found on their excellent website here. For more information on infrastructure developments in Croatia, follow our lifestyle page.

As Morski writes on the 29th of May, 2019, the construction of a coastal belt and the new breakwater is a new project of the Zadar County Port Administration in the ports of the Zadar region's islands which are now waiting for  the necessary construction permits, as well as to be registered as candidates for funding from the Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure within the scope of the "Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020" program.

The above project is worth a massive thirty million kuna, with the investor, the Zadar County Port Authority, accounting for 75 percent of the investment within this program. Currently, the largest port facility operation in Zadar County, the construction of a ferry port in Tkon on the island of Pašman, is funded mostly by money from the aforementioned fund, Zadarski.hr writes.

With this investment, the northern shore of the harbour or the bay in Sali will be extended and properly arranged in the length of an additional 150 metres, while the new breakwater which is also set to be constructed in Sali will be 114.5 metres in length.

The new pier will fully protect the Sali's harbour, and thus far more securely, from potentially damaging and strong southeastern winds, and the new shoreline and breakwater will provide new berths for the transit needs of Sali's local harbour within a concession held by the Sali-based communal company "Mulić".

Davor Škibola, the director of ŽLU Zadar, said that all preparations for the realisation of this project could be completed by the end of this year, and that things could be wrapped up at the time, or at the latest at the beginning of next year, when the construction of a new part of Sali's riva (waterfront) and the breakwater would finally begin.

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Click here for the original article by Zadarski.hr

Pelješac bridge is something we've been reading about and anticipating for many years now. From wondering where the funding would come from before Croatia's accession to the EU to hearing Bosnian arguments against its construction, this enormous Croatian strategic project will see the construction of a bridge connect Croatian territory without a detour through Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina, needed in order to reach Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia by car. 

Works on Pelješac bridge which once seemed like they'd never happen finally began not so long ago, after a Chinese company was chosen as the contractor, much to the European Commission's irritation, given the fact that the bridge is majority financed by European Union funds. Despire that, works appear to be going smoothly and owing to the famous efficiency of the Chinese, more quickly than expected.

The joke is now that the Croats who can't seem to get the construction of Pelješac bridge's access roads off the ground (no pun intended) won't have even chosen a contractor before the Chinese have finished with the entire bridge.

Regardless, Croatian Roads (Hrvatske Ceste) have published the first 3D promotional video on what Pelješac's brand new roads are set to look like.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of May, 2019, just two days ago, the last pilot was put into place at Pelješac bridge's construction site, along the sea bed below the future bridge, 148 permanent pilots and two testers were placed, and the quick and efficient Chinese builders have thus completed the first phase of the bridge's construction, well before time.

This was the timely occasion for Croatian Roads to announce their promotional film showcasing a 3D simulation of the future road through Pelješac for the first time. Have a look at the video (in Croatian) here:

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more information on the construction of Pelješac bridge and much, much more.

The economic situation in Croatia is far from promising, and with more and more Croats flocking to Western European countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany, it seems that the country's massive staff shortages and concerning demographic crisis aren't about to be over any time soon. 

However, just how much milk and honey really flows through the rivers of Western Europe, or is it all just a myth? Having been raised in the UK and having lived in Croatia for years now, I can quite confidently state that neither milk nor honey can be found at least in the British isles, and while the economic conditions are indeed more stable and safe, the idea that huge wage packets and a perfect life are waiting for you when you step off the plane in London is farfetched, to say the very least.

Wages typically (not always, of course) match the cost of living, and when you need to pay over £100 for council tax per month and have your heating turned on for several months per year to cope with the cold temperatures and miserable weather, suddenly that fatter pay packet doesn't seem as appealing as it did at first.

As Croats from all corners of the country continue to go and try their hand abroad, thanks to Croatia's accession to the EU and the freedom of labour, many are faced with shocks which only longer than three months in their newly adopted Western European countries can show up.

As Novac writes on the 27th of April, 2019, Marko Mihaljević, a 27-year old Croat with a Masters degree, went from Babina Greda in Vukovar-Srijem County (Eastern Croatia) to the bustling German city of Frankfurt seven months ago, and managed to get a job in construction. He is one of the very many young Croats who haven't been able to find a job in Croatia, so they placed their hopes and dreams for a better future in the hands of one of the Croats' favourite countries to go and seek work - Germany.

However, just like in the United Kingdom, there are no rivers flowing with milk and honey in Germany either, and Marko soon found that out for himself.

"I thought it would get easier in time, but everything's harder," Mihaljević explains in a short Facebook video he posted in which he discusses the matter.

He shared his experiences of leaving Croatia and working in Germany via the aforementioned Facebook video, and told his fellow young Croats still in Croatia not to go abroad if they weren't absolutely sure of everything, because he himself thought things would be very different.

''I'm spending my days doing this job. I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus, nor am I trying to talk badly about any job, because I've never underestimated anyone in my life, but I'm doing a job for which I don't even need a primary school education. Having a Master's degree sounds nice, but I've got to break my back here from morning til night for my bare existence because that's [gaining respectable employment with a Master's degree] not allowed in Croatia. Why is it not allowed? Because I'm not in any political party,'' Marko stated bluntly.

He says he's angry that as a man with a Master's degree, he has to work in the construction industry, but he currently has no choice,'' writes Fenix ​​Magazine.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle  page for much more on the Croatian demographic crisis and the mass exodus of Croats to Western Europe.

A brand new building is set to be built down in Dubrovnik as a mosque for the religious needs of almost 1,500 people who identify as Muslims (according to the 2011 census) will be constructed.

As Al Jazeera Balkans writes on the 16th of April, 2019, the Islamic centre which will be located in the Gruž area of the City of Dubrovnik should become a reality in just two years, according to a report from Dubrovacki dnevnik.

As soon as all of the required documentation is dealt with and settled, the construction of the mosque, complete with a minaret, is likely to begin, which is not expected to last for a particularly long time. For now, building permits are being waited on.

The future mosque's location will be at a space on the site of former GP Dubrovnik in Gruž, the project foresees the construction of a mosque complete with a minaret, which will be built in Mediterranean or Moroccan style.

"The project will go its way, it will not take long until we get the construction permit, so we're currently preparing the paperwork, and everything will be ready for construction in two years. We have to emphasise the fact that we in the Islamic community have great cooperation with the city authorities which have been coming to meet with us,'' said the Islamic Community's president, Fehim Vukotić.

The construction of an Islamic center is a long-term desire of Dubrovnik's resident Muslim population, of whom in Dubrovnik, at least according to the census of 2011, there are 1,499. That number has likely risen since then.

By building an Islamic center and a mosque with a minaret, there will finally be a place dedicated to numerous social content and events for the southern Dalmatian city's local Muslim community, as well as prayer rooms.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If it's just Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia you're interested in, give Total Dubrovnik a follow. Need ideas for what to do when visiting the Pearl of the Adriatic, check out Dubrovnik in a Page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of April, 2019, the national children's hospital project is now finally entering a much more serious phase, and the Croatian Ministry of Health and the City of Zagreb, which are partners on this strategic project, will finally present it to the public in full, according to a report from Vecernji list, citing an international public bid to draw up a feasibility study for the huge project in Blato, Zagreb.

The feasibility study is necessary for this project because it will properly specify the requirements of the architecture, the urban planning, the ecological impact, the traffic situation, and all of the other parameters which need to be carefully considered and constructed, and one of the feasibility study elements would be the preparation of medical documentation.

Fifteen of the major international bidders are expected to report their segment-based studies, each within its own respective scope, and therefore a comprehensive study will ultimately define just what will go where, and where exactly to begin with construction. The start of work on feasibility studies from the project's partners, the Croatian Ministry of Health and the City of Zagreb, will be presented on this coming Monday, as was confirmed to Večernji list by Vili Beroš from the Ministry of Health.

"We received 42 million kuna from the Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014 - 2020 project, which is now a European project, and its initial presentation is common within such projects," explained Beroš.

The announcement of this tender was preceded by an electronic public consultation with all interested parties.

The core of Croatia's brand new national children's hospital would be the current Zagreb Children's Hospital, Klaićeva.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page. If it's just the Croatian capital you're interested in, find out all you need to know by giving Total Zagreb a follow. Our comprehensive Zagreb in a Page might also give you a helping hand.

From the construction of Pelješac bridge to planning to build a car factory in southern Dalmatia's Neretva valley, to displaying interest in potentially rescuing the enfeebled Croatian shipyards Uljanik and 3 Maj, the Chinese are no strangers to showcasing their investment interest in Croatia.

Croatia has earned itself a less than positive reputation among foreign investors, alright, let's not be so politially correct and say that Croatia is a burning hot mess in the eyes of foreign investors. ABC has come to mean ''Anything but Croatia'' in foreign investment circles, and many are simply bypassing the country entirely. That's not to talk about local, Croatian investors who have been dragged through the proverbial mud twice or even thrice the amount. Given the somewhat depressing statistics, just why are the Chinese suddenly so deeply interested in investing such huge sums of money in Croatia?

While many have welcomed the money-laden offers of the Chinese, others have remained cautiously optimistic, and some have made no qualms about being vocal in their dismay at the thought of the Chinese coming and ''taking over'' by investing heavily in Croatia's many pressing strategic projects. The motives that push the Chinese towards closer and closer ties with Croatia tend to end up as mere hearsay and solacious gossip in the comment sections of various portals, but what do the experts believe?

As Novac/Marina Karlovic Sabolic writes on the 12th of April, 2019, the Chinese are truly incredible people. They come to Croatia every ten years, and the Croats immediately forget about all of the Chinese "bofl" goods they've spent their lives purchasing and throwing away. They suddenly become blissfully unaware of the dreaded "Made in China" mark that everyone gets so sick to the back teeth of seeing plastered all over basically anything. Instead, their innermost desires display blurry images of an ailing Uljanik, of Tito's rotting memorial complex in Kumrovec, of Rijeka's port, and even football stadiums, Slobodna Dalmacija writes.

Does anybody bother to ask in this country what the Chinese will ask for in return, however? Entering into the dubious and somewhat unpredictable world of Croatian shipbuilding, constructing a much needed railway line and maybe rescuing a port in Rijeka all before dinner time will come with a price tag, and likely a hefty one. The situation when that bill inevitably arrives is one that tends to be what fills the militant online naysayers with fuel, and dread.

''Don't be afraid, China will not demand that the Communist Party be established in Croatia or that it rules the country,'' prof. Dr. Vlatko Cvrtila, one of the most prominent Croatian geopolitical experts, stated. He also added that in its long-term strategic plans, China really doesn't have any sort of idea of ​​introducing a single-party system in the countries in which it invests its money. Their interest, claims Cvrtila, is of quite another nature.

''The Chinese don't invest because they have a lot of money and they want to go around giving it out. There's no philanthropy in international relations. All they invest in is related to their global strategy of creating influence and linking the Eurasian world in a continental way. By investing in infrastructure, ports, roads and railways, they enable their goods to reach their customers more easily,'' says Cvrtila.

Such an approach, he points out, is legitimate for a country that has boasts such great economic potential at this time like China does. Their mega-project, the Silk Road, which would increase the possibility of land transport, aims to reduce overall dependence on maritime traffic restrictions.

Cvrtila notes the US administration's estimates and warnings that China will one day turn its massive economic influence into strategic power as well. This is something that United States, which is already competing with Russia, doesn't think well of. However, China is now quietly placing all of its cards on the economic side of the story.

''In order to maintain its economic growth, China must have a market. In infrastructure projects, they actually make the market more widespread. China can't stop, while it's riding the bike it needs to rotate the pedals. The Chinese are present everywhere where they can create prerequisites for the distribution of goods. In Greece, they're in the ports, in Montenegro, they're dealing with the construction of a motorway, in Croatia, they're building Pelješac bridge. This is a win win situation for everyone, because in the long run, any investment in infrastructure can improve a country's economic performance,'' says Cvrtila.

China has, therefore, created the 1 + 16 formet in Southeastern Europe where its usually large-scale investments help countries that otherwise don't have a lot of foreign investment.

''Europe has survived a difficult financial crisis and there is no "free finance" which would enter JI Europe. China's investment is actually beneficial for Europe, because along with China, the European Union has developed non-competitive but increasingly strategic economic relations, realising in time that they [the Chinese] can contribute to its economic growth,'' emphasises Cvrtila.

Croatia, according to him, is fortunate because it is strategically quite well positioned: it is closer to the heart of Europe than it is to Northern Europe. And, de facto, it is located at the intersection of the roads between the East and the West.

Unfortunately, Croatia hasn't used its geostrategic advantage yet. LNG terminal stands, as do the new train lines. It's also important to revitalise the Port of Rijeka so that Croatia can profit in the fast transport of goods to European consumers. We don't have our own investments, Europe has no capacity anymore, which is why the Croatian Government is seriously considering deals from China,'' concludes Cvrtila.

Therefore, there's no need for Croatia to be afraid of the Chinese, but rather actually use them for its own interests.

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Click here for the original article by Marina Karlovic Sabolic for Novac/Jutarnji