ZAGREB, August 8, 2019 - The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures has confirmed to Hina that the Austrian construction company Strabag has filed a complaint against the selection of the Greek company J&P Avax as the contractor to build southern access roads to the Pelješac Bridge.

The project in question concerns two sections of the Ston bypass road.

Even though officials at the Commission could not confirm it, this complaint, which is one in a number of similar complaints that could slow down the construction of roads leading to the Pelješac Bridge, concerns Strabag's claim that a reference of one of Avax's civil engineers stated in the company's bid, is not in line with tender conditions.

Hina has learned that the engineer in question worked on the Ravča-Ploče section of the A1 motorway and that he was hired as the main engineer by the Konstruktor company.

The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures confirmed that Strabag's complaint was received on August 7 and that it would be processed within the legal deadline.

The Austrian company previously complained against Avax's having been chosen to build the Doli-Duboka section and the complaint was accepted, after which it was decided that Strabag would build that section.

Strabag previously also complained against the January 2018 decision to choose China Bridge and Road Corporation to build the Pelješac Bridge.

According to unofficial sources, J&P Avax is very likely to complain to the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures against Strabag's having been chosen to build the Duboka-Sparagovici section, which will additionally slow down work on the Pelješac Bridge project.

Thanks to exceptional efforts by Chinese workers, the bridge could thus be completed before access roads, whose construction has been slowed down by red tape, bringing into question the tentative deadline of 31 January 2022, when the entire project is expected to be completed.

The agreement for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge with access roads, worth 2.08 billion euro without VAT, was signed on 23 April 2018 by Hrvatske Ceste and China Road and Bridge Corporation. Eighty-five percent of eligible costs will be covered by the EU.

The construction of the Pelješac Bridge is the first of four phases of a project for road connectivity with southern Dalmatia. The other phases include the construction of access roads, and the construction of the Ston bypass road includes the construction of a bridge.

More news about Pelješac Bridge can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, July 27, 2019 - The state-owned road construction and maintenance company Hrvatske Ceste (HC) on Friday selected contractors for access roads to the Pelješac Bridge, awarding a contract for two subsections of the Ston bypass road to the Greek company Avax and a contract for the Duboka-Šparagovići section to the Austrian company Strabag.

Avax made an offer of 511.5 million kuna for the subsections Šparagovići-Prapratno and Prapratno-Doli, which are 18 kilometres long in total, while Strabag offered 478.3 million kuna for the 12-km-long Duboka-Šparagovići section.

The decision may be appealed within 10 days.

The agreement for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge with access roads, worth 2.08 billion kuna without VAT, was signed on 23 April 2018 by Hrvatske Ceste and China Road and Bridge Corporation. Eighty-five percent of eligible costs will be covered by the EU.

The construction of the Pelješac Bridge is the first of four phases of a project for road connectivity with southern Dalmatia. The other phases include the construction of access roads, and the construction of the Ston bypass road includes the construction of a bridge. The tentative deadline for the completion of all works is 31 January 2022.

More Pelješac Bridge construction news can be found in the Business section.

As Morski writes on the 24th of July, 2019, the DUNEA regional agency, in co-operation with the Institute for Tourism, presented a document titled the "Desirable Tourism Development Plan for the Pelješac Peninsula in the contect of the Construction of Pelješac Bridge" in Ston, which is the result of the successful implementation of the COASTING project, which deals with the establishment of integral coastal zone management for sustainable tourism.

As highlighted in the presentation, this document represents the first step in looking at the immediate and indirect effects of the Pelješac Bridge construction on the existing/desired tourist product of the peninsula, but also on the challenges that the authorities in all units of local self-government should respond to in a timely manner.

Representatives of regional and local authorities, civil society associations and businessmen from the Pelješac area, who participated in the workshops organised by the DUNEA regional agency back in April and May in Pelješac, provided a better insight into the role of tourism and its significance for the Pelješac peninsula, the challenges of tourism development, and aspects of the future development of the peninsula, as well as the results of the joint work have now become part of the same plan.

It was also said that the construction of Pelješac Bridge is not only a capital project in the development of the county traffic's infrastructure, but also a project that will significantly affect the quality of life of the local community, mainly due to diverting traffic flows and increasing the traffic burden on one part of the Pelješac peninsula, in order to examine the influence of the construction of Pelješac Bridge on the predominant model of tourism development. It is, in turn, to do with the various economic, environmental and/or social impacts that bridge construction can cause, as the document emphasised.

Representatives of the Ston, Janjina, Trpanj and Orebić Municipalities, the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board, the Institute for Physical Planning of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Areas of Nature of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the local action group FLAG "South Adriatic ", Orebić's municipal development agencies, the local action group LAG 5 and other interested stakeholders were also present at the document's presentation.

Along with the DUNEA regional agency, the partners of the project are the Lazio Region (Italy), the Regional Council of Gozo (Malta), the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), the AMP Metropolis (France), the Epirus Region (Greece), the Saranda Municipality (Albania) and the Sicilian Region (Italy).

The project, worth around 1 million euros was contracted under the Interreg Mediterranean program with an 85 percent co-financing rate and the DUNEA regional agency's budget of 89,490 euros.

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ZAGREB, July 22, 2019 - Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Minister Mirko Šarović, who is the leader of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), on Monday called on the country's Presidency to once again examine the question of the Pelješac Bridge and Croatia's plans for a nuclear waste site at Trgovska Gora after media reported that Croatia had already decided on that site which is close to the Bosnian border.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina has no other choice than to once again put the issue of a nuclear waste storage facility in Trgovska Gora, which is of enormous significance for the entire country and in particular for the towns of Novi Grad, Kostajnica and other border towns, but also the issue of the construction of the Pelješac Bridge on the agenda and to take a clear stance," Šarović said in Banja Luka on Monday.

According to Šarović, the Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik's decision last week to veto a decision by the two other Presidency members was rash. As the incumbent chairman of the tripartite presidency, Dodik called for a veto to a decision by the Bosniak and Serb members, Šefik Džaferović and Željko Komšić respectively that a demand be sent to Croatia to stop the construction of the Pelješac Bridge until the sea border demarcation issue is resolved between the two countries. Dodik's veto was later upheld by the Republika Srpska parliament.

In the meantime, some media outlets have reported that Croatia's authorities have already decided on Trgovska Gora as the site to build a nuclear waste storage facility, which is located on the border with Bosnia, and this has led to numerous reactions in that country.

Šarović said that after the announcement of the plan to build the nuclear waste facility, authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina "have no alternative than to once again" raise these issues with Croatia at the next Presidency meeting.

More news about relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 21, 2019 - The Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency, Milorad Dodik, has said he will again impose a veto and ask the Serb entity's parliament to reverse any decision whereby the Presidency's two other members might outvote him concerning the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia.

"If I'm outvoted again and Šefik Džaferović and Željko Komšić create certain conclusions on the Pelješac Bridge again, I'll invoke vital interests again," he was quoted as saying in BiH's print media on Sunday.

Earlier this week, the Serb entity's parliament rescinded by two-thirds majority a decision by Džaferović and Komšić, the Presidency's Bosniak and Croat members, after Dodik vetoed their demand that construction on the Pelješac Bridge be stopped and that the two countries resolve the sea border issue, or they would file an international suit.

Dodik said all outstanding issues with Croatia should be resolved through talks but without setting conditions or creating "new disputes that will last ten years or more."

Komšić assumed the rotating chairmanship of the BiH Presidency from Dodik on Saturday, saying he would look for any way to implement the sea border demarcation and that he would insist on BiH's access to the high seas.

More news about Pelješac bridge can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, July 17, 2019 - The Croat and Bosniak members of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić and Šefik Džaferović respectively, on Tuesday decided to launch proceedings against Croatia over the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, while the chairman of the tripartite presidency and its Serb member, Milorad Dodik, said that he would attempt to thwart them by using the mechanism of protecting vital national interest.

The decision is considered to have been formally adopted, but considering that each member has the right to vital interest, I as the Serb member of the presidency raised the issue of vital national interest, Dodik told reporters in Sarajevo after a meeting of the presidency.

He did not explain what sort of proceedings would be launched, but it is assumed that they will most likely be instigated at an international arbitration body.

The mechanism of vital national interest means that Dodik will have to explain his objection to Komšić and Džaferović's stance before the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity and if his opinion is upheld by a two-thirds majority, the decision that the other two members of the presidency voted for cannot enter into force.

Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) with its coalition partners has absolute majority in the RS parliament, so it is more than likely that the parliament will put a veto on the presidency's decision adopted today.

Dodik said that that decision was not a good one because it opened new problems in relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. He underlined that it was particularly damaging on the day the two countries signed an agreement the construction of a bridge across the Sava river at Gradiška which has been in the pipeline for the past ten years.

"My demand was that a border agreement be reached with Croatia, but they (Komšić and Džaferović) focused on the Pelješac Bridge," Dodik said, stressing that that would mean a dispute not only with Croatia but the European Union, which would not be good for the country.

Komšić and Džaferović earlier reiterated that Croatia should not be allowed to build the bridge before the border issue between the two countries in the Neum bay is resolved. They claim that the Pelješac Bridge will hinder Bosnia and Herzegovina's access to the high seas.

The Croatian Roads company, the Bosnian Communications and Transport Ministry and a contractor representative signed a 19.5 million euro contract in Zagreb on Tuesday for the construction of a bridge across the Sava river from Okučani to the Croatian-Bosnian border.

More news about Pelješac Bridge can be found in the Politics section.

After the Chinese company CRBC started working on the new Pelješac bridge in July last year, and after all of the 148 permanent (+ 2 test) pillars have been installed at their sites, in the last couple of days the construction of the bridge has finally surfaced!

Večernji list brings the story and a gallery of photos by Hrvatske ceste (Croatian roads), of how it's possible to see the structure of the bridge above the sea level, as the work on the foundation slabs has started, and those are the first sections of the bridge that will be above water.

It took less than a year to reach that benchmark, and it takes a lot of human and machine power to be able to work that fast. Currently there are more than 20 vessels working on the site, although the biggest one, the Xong Cheng 1 crane, left the bay in May. Currently there are 385 workers on the site, 44 of which are Croats and 341 are Chinese nationals working in Croatia (and recently there have been some problems with their work permits, so the company had to pay a hefty fine).

The foundation slabs connect the pillars that belong to the same group, thus allowing for better stability of the bridge, as well as to protect it against any boats potentially hitting the pillars - as they are at water level and visible. Once they're completed, the piers of the bridge get attached to the slabs. There's more work to be done, as Croatian roads reports, on the pillars of the bridge, pouring concrete and finalising the structure at the seabed.

It is expected that Pelješac bridge will be completely finished in two years. And whether it's going to be fully operational then depends on some other factors, which have almost nothing to do with the bridge itself, rather they almost perfectly tell the tale of Croatia.

ZAGREB, May 30, 2019 - The national road operator Hrvatske Ceste (HC) took into account of possible appeals, lawsuits and so on with regard to access roads to the Pelješac Bridge, and now it is necessary to wait for the court's decision on the appeal that was lodged, but all the works will be completed within the set deadlines, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport, and Infrastructure Oleg Butković told reporters on Thursday.

Butković said that "we are used to that and nothing we haven't seen before is occurring," and that "no one, including the Croatian government, prime minister, ministers or HC's director can or is allowed to influence the independent decisions of the courts or the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures because they are independent bodies.

"All I can do is appeal on those institutions to make their decision as soon as possible," Butković said, adding that the court had 30 days to decide on the appeals and then it will be known who the contractor for the access roads will be.

The appeal was lodged on May 15, so the court should deliver its decision by June 15, he said and added that if the appeal is rejected, HC would sign the contract for the road construction, and if the appellant is not satisfied with the decision, it has the opportunity to appeal to the Administrative Court, but that will not halt the works.

The latest hitch emerged after the Greek Avax company lodged an appeal to the High Administrative Court (VUS) in mid-May against a decision by the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures quashing a decision by HC that the access roads to the Pelješac Bridge be built by that company.

On May 16, VUS confirmed that it had received Avax's appeal. Under the Public Procurement Act, a decision has to be delivered within 30 days.

More Pelješac Bridge news can be found in the Business section.

The Greek company Avax has filed a lawsuit against Croatia’s State Commission for Control of Public Procurement Procedures. The reason is a decision by the commission to annul the decision by the Croatian Roads to award the company the contract for the construction of access roads to the Pelješac Bridge, the Duboka-Sparagovići section, reports Večernji List on May 23, 2019.

The High Administrative Court has confirmed that they had received the Avax’s lawsuit on May 16, adding that, in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, a decision on an administrative dispute must be made within 30 days from the date the lawsuit is filed, unless there are exceptionally justified circumstances.

This means that the decision should be made no later than June 16. With the Avax's lawsuit, the tender for the construction of the Pelješac Bridge access roads faces a new twist and further delays. Bids for the tender were opened last June, but the Croatian Roads public company made the decision on the selection only in late February this year. The decision to award the contract to Avax, estimated at 482 million kunas, was appealed by the Austrian company Strabag and the Greek company Aktor. The appeal was rejected.

In its appeal, Strabag stated that the Croatian Roads should had excluded Avax due to the participation of the company in a cartel agreement in Greece between 2005 and 2012. Croatian Roads responded that it did not determine there was a professional omission by Avax because it had no proof of this, and that the company had paid a fine for being in a cartel agreement.

Avax said in its statement that it received a fine of 18.3 million euro being in a cartel agreement and that the last case of a breach of market competition rules occurred in 2012. They also said that the company was not excluded from public tenders in Greece. The commission instructed Croatian Roads to reconsider all the bids received and see whether there were reasons to exclude Avax.

It is expected that Croatian Roads will wait for the court ruling on Avax's lawsuit before making a new decision. Avax has offered to construct the Duboka-Sparagovići section for 464.9 million kuna, while Strabag was ready to do it for 478.3 million kuna. The offer of Integral Inženjering from Bosnia and Herzegovina amounted to 321.2 million kuna, and by GP Krka and Euro-asfalt to 444.3 million kuna. Aktor asked for 464.6 million kuna, and Colas for 521.9 million kuna. The offer of the China Road and Bridge Corporation amounted to 647.8 million kuna.

While the Pelješac Bridge construction is progressing according to schedule, the construction of access roads is running late.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Josip Bohutinski).

https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/novi-zaplet-oko-peljeskog-mosta-grci-podnijeli-upravnu-tuzbu-1321029

More Pelješac Bridge news can be found in the Business section.

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.