As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of December, 2019, the spacer assembly, or the main load-bearing beam, is composed of elements that are made up of welded steel sheets. These parts will soon arrive from China to Croatia and mark the continuation of the next level of works on Peljesac bridge in Dalmatia.

The first segment of steel span structure for Peljesac bridge has now been fully completed at the plants over in China, and this is something that Peljesac bridge's Chinese builders have commemorated, as can be seen in a short video posted by Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste).

About 400 segments of the future bridge's steel span structure will be brought in by ships from China, some parts will be six metres long and some will be twelve metres long.

The first thirty segments from China will be well on their way to the Republic of Croatia, as was reported by Večernji list, who say that Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste) are expecting them to arrive in mid-January next year, and they are expected to arrive at Peljesac bridge's actual construction site in late January or early February 2020. Their total weight is an enormous 6,831 tonnes.

As stated previously, the spacer assembly, or main load-bearing beam, is composed of elements that are made up of welded steel sheets. The parts of individual segments of the bridge are assembled at the factory and then transported to the construction site.

The size of the parts that can be assembled at the factory depends on the ability to transport them to the construction site where they will be assembled as a whole to be installed at the final location, within the structure of Peljesac bridge, a long awaited and strategic project for the Republic of Croatia and for the connecting of the territory of the European Union.

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ZAGREB, December 5, 2019 - The Croatian state-run road operator Hrvatske Ceste (HC) stated on Thursday that earlier in the morning the Greek Avax company had started constructing a ring-road at Ston on the peninsula of Pelješac, which is part of the Pelješac Bridge project aimed at improving Dalmatia's road connectivity.

The Ston ring-road, consisting of the Šparagovići/Zaradeže-Prapratno and Prapratno-Doli sub-sections, is estimated at 511.5 million kuna without Value Added Tax (VAT).

The HC expects Avax to build the 18-kilometre-long ring road within 28 months.

The Šparagovići/Zaradeže-Prapratno sub-section includes a viaduct, and the Prapratno-Doli subsection two tunnels and two bridges.

A month ago, a group consisting of Strabag AG and Strabag d.o.o., started construction work on their part of access roads to the future Pelješac Bridge.

The Duboka-Šparagovići/Zaradeže section, to be built by that group, is 12.05 kilometres long and its construction will take 33 months. This segment of the network of access roads costs 478.3 million kuna without VAT.

As many as 410 Chinese and 60 Croatian workers have been hired to build the Pelješac Bridge. In addition, 21 vessels are being used for undersea work.

The bridge in southernmost Croatia is being built by the China Bridge and Road Corporation. The EU is co-financing 85% of the construction cost and Croatia the rest.

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

As Vedran Marjanovic/Novac writes on the 8th of November, 2019, following the official announcement of the decision of Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) to assign the construction of the access roads to Pelješac bridge on the Duboka-Šparagović/Zaradeže section to the Austrian company Strabag, a ten-day deadline for appeals from other bidders against that decision before the State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures began.

Considering the current progress of the tender for the contractor for the access roads to Pelješac bridge and the installation of supporting equipment on these roads, it would be a great surprise if there were no complaints due to the further delay of the beginning of the works on the access roads to the bridge, the construction of which has already been significantly delayed.

In addition to the aforementioned road section, Croatian roads is looking for a contractor for the access road to Pelješac bridge on the Šparagovići-Doli route, and a company that will purchase and install equipment for signalling, lighting and electricity for both sections.

The decision to entrust Strabag with the construction of the Duboka-Šparagovići/Zaradeže section was decided on July the 26th this year, following the acceptance of an offer from the Austrian company of 478 million kuna and 398 thousand kuna excluding VAT. This is almost four million kuna less than the price offered before, which Croatian roads was then prepared to pay.

In addition to explaining the process of the selection of the best offer, the reasons for rejecting other bidders in the tender for the Duboka-Šparagovići/Zaradeže section have also been stated. The other offers came from the Greek companies J&P Avax and Aktor S.A., Integral Engineering from Laktaši in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a joint offer from Colas (France) and Marty (Austria), and of course the Chinese China Road and Bridge Corporation.

According to Croatian roads, J&P Avax and Aktor S.A. have been excluded from this tender because of their participation in prohibited agreements in some previous open tenders within the European Union, more specifically for failing to take the necessary legal steps to prevent further breaches of EU provisions on prohibited agreements.

Integral Engineering, according to a decision issued by Croatian roads, was rejected because of its unusually low price in its bid to build the Duboka-Šparagovići/Zaradeže section. Integral's bid was 321 million kuna excluding VAT.

Colas and Marti's joint bid, as well as that of China's CRBC corporation, were rejected due to the excess bid price of 522 million kuna (Colas and Marti), or 647 million kuna in the case of CRBC's offer.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the delay in the start of construction of the access roads to Pelješac bridge due to appeals filed to DKOM, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković announced that the state would tighten the conditions under which these appeals could be filed.

Butković is of the firm opinion that appeals should only be allowed to companies that really have a business interest to file them at all.

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As Morski writes on the 29th of October, 2019, a whole fifteen months from the beginning of the construction of the foundations of the future Peljesac bridge that will finally connect not only the territory of the Republic of Croatia into a single entity, but join that of the European Union itself, the very first contours rise above the sea.

Peljesac bridge seemed like a very far off saga just several years ago, and after Croatia joined the EU it was entitled to access to EU funds, a huge proportion of which are going towards financing the construction of this highly anticipated bridge which will connect, as stated, not only the territory of the country but the territory of the EU, removing the need to cross borders in and out of neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum when entering or exiting the extreme south of Dalmatia.

Despite the fact that a Chinese company is building the bridge, and the EU was not entirely pleased with the idea, there can be no doubt that the speed at which the Chinese work will see the bridge completed on time.

The Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation requested permission to work 24 hours per day, installed floodlights to allow them to do so and as such have now successfully placed 139 pilots at the bridge's base and then prepared the very first load-bearing columns for the rest of the bridge's upcoming construction.

While the tireless and classically hardworking Chinese are working on what is a capital project on Peljesac bridge, a project of strategic importance to Croatia, more steel structures are being prepared at the two factories over in China, and they're expected to arrive in Croatia to be used on the much anticipated southern Dalmatian bridge in early 2020.

The deadline for completion of the bridge is July 2021, have a quick look and see how it looks today in the video below.

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Pelješac bridge's construction site currently has 410 Chinese and 60 Croatian workers present on it, as well as 21 vessels.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of October, 2019, the construction of the first pillars has begun at the construction site of Pelješac bridge down in southern Dalmatia. The project is one of strategic importance not only to Croatia but to the EU, as the bridge will connect European Union territory without the need for border crossings in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Neum).

At pilot post eight (S8), the pilot's headpiece is completely finished, reinforcement works are currently underway, followed by the pouring of concrete, and the formwork is already being prepared for construction of the actual pillar itself, according to a report from Vecernji list.

The pilot headpieces are in the process of being made at posts five, six, seven and nine. On the mainland side (S2), things are currently in an advanced stage of construction and things have already emerged well, and on the Pelješac side on S13, the foundations are currently being worked on, which Poslovni Dnevnik's journalists themselves came away convinced of after they visited the site of the most important, strategic Croatian infrastructure project to date.

Jure Šegedin, Project Manager of the Pelješac bridge Project, on behalf of the investor, Croatian Roads (Hrvatske ceste), explained that S6, 7, 8 and 9 have the largest headpieces, each with 3,200 cubic metres of concrete and 1,200 tons of reinforcement. These headpieces, he added, have the dimensions of a handball court, 29 times 25 metres, with a thickness of five metres. The S8 should be finished first by the end of the year, of course depending very much on the weather.

As soon as the pilots were dealt with, China Road and Bridge Corporation began requesting permission to work on site 24 hours a day. Thus, the pillars are illuminated with floodlights so that work can be done at night, writes Vecernji list.

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The long-awaited Pelješac bridge is not only an extremely demanding project, but of strategic importance to both Croatia and the European Union, and one of the most significant infrastructure projects to ever take place in the country's history.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 10th of October, 2019, the contract for the construction of access roads to Pelješac bridge and the Ston bypass with the companies Strabag and Avax finally ended the lengthy tender procedure dogged by appeals and complaints, and now construction can finally begin.

A new visualisation has also been released on what Pelješac bridge and the surrounding access roads should look like when the works are completed.

The Austrian Strabag will build the section Duboko - Sparagovići/Zaradeže section, while the Greek Avax will build the section of the Ston bypass and the Sparagovići/Zaradeže - Prapratno and Prapratno - Doli sections. In total, these roads amount to about thierty kilometres of access roads.

The Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said that by signing the contract, the first phase of the tender was now completed, that the construction of access roads can now finally begin and that there should be no problems in the construction itself, but that one could still never really know what might happen in the future.

He added that this is a demanding project, and one of the most important infrastructure projects in the country.

Avax's CEO, Christos Ioannou, said the Greek company attaches great importance to the construction of the Ston bypass and the Sparagovići/Zaradeže - Prapratno and Prapratno - Doli sections, and is proud to be part of a project which carries such a level of importance for Croatia.

He emphasised that the project will be completed on time and be done well, while Strabag's director, Veljko Nižetić, emphasised the fact that the Pelješac bridge project is also important for Strabag, which has been operating in Croatia for more than twenty years now.

According to him, the guarantee that their part of the project will be successfully completed is the fact that Strabag has solid financial stability, technical knowledge and a thousand employees in Croatia. The works, he said, will start very soon, in accordance with the contract.

A contract for the construction of the mainland-Pelješac bridge access roads, worth 2.08 billion kuna (excluding VAT), was signed on April the 23rd last year between representatives of Croatian Roads (Hrvatske Ceste) and the Chinese consortium China Road and Bridge Corporation, with 85 percent of the eligible costs being financed by EU funds.

Watch the video here:

Poslovni dnevnik/YouTube

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ZAGREB, October 9, 2019 - Contracts for the construction of access roads to the Pelješac Bridge and the Ston ring road were signed on Wednesday by the government and the Strabag and Avax companies, concluding the tender procedure which was ridden with appeals, and now construction can finally commence.

The Duboka-Šparagovići/Zaradeže section will be built by the Austrian Strabag company while the Ston ring road and the sub-sections Šparagovići/Zaradeže-Prapratno and Prapratno-Doli will be built by the Greek Avax company. All in all, this involves about 30 kilometres of access roads.

Strabag's price for its section amounts to 478.3 million kuna without VAT, while Avax's price for its section was 511.5 million kuna without VAT.

The section to be constructed by Avax should be completed in 28 months' time while Strabag's project will be completed in 33 months. Construction is expected to start within the next two and a half months.

Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković said that today's contract signing concludes the first phase of the tender and that construction of access roads can now begin, adding that he did not expect any problems during construction but that one never knew what can happen in the future.

Asked whether he was afraid things could go wrong, Butković said that considering the contractors, the process and documentation prepared by the Hrvatske Ceste road operator, the good designers and good supervision, he did not expect any major problems, as these are global companies.

He believes that the situation has been defined and does not expect any lawsuits to be lodged at the Administrative Court which, he said, would not prevent the construction of the access roads. He could not say whether there would be any time difference between the completion of the Pelješac Bridge itself and the access roads.

"I believe that everything will be completed in this financial perspective, because we have to do it. We have to spend this money by the end of 2023 and that will occur before that," said Butković.

He added that this is a demanding project and one of the most important infrastructure projects in the country.

Hrvatske Ceste CEO Josip Škorić said that total value of the contract signed today was a little less than 990 million kuna and, together with the bridge, the total amount of 3.1 billion kuna.

Avax director general Christos Ioannou said that the company was pleased to be able to participate in this project and that it will certainly be completed well and in time, while Strabag's director Veljko Nižetić underscored that Strabag considers this to be an important project and that Strabag has been present in Croatia for more than 20 years.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković attended the signing ceremony and wished the contractors the best of luck and speedy completion of works.

Both Strabag and Avax appealed against each other to the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures. The commission rejected both appeals.

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

It would appear that the final decision on who will get to build the access roads to Pelješac bridge has finally been reached.

Jutarnji list writes about the State Comission for the Control of Public Tender Processes (Državna komisija za kontrolu postupaka javne nabave, DKOM) and its denial of the appeal lodged by the Austrian company Strabag to the decision by Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) to award the construction of the access roads to the Greek company Avax.

This decision is final insomuch that Strabag can't appeal it any more. The only recourse it has left is to take this matter to court, more specifically to the High Administrative Court, but even if they decide to do that, that will not prolong the signing of the contract any more. It is expected that those signatures and the start of the construction could take place during the next month. Just to remind you, the section of the access roads in question is between Sparagovići and Doli on the Pelješac peninsula, including the bypass road around Ston.

This decision concludes the saga of the selection of the contractor hired to build one part of the southern section of the access roads for Pelješac bridge. The public offers sent out were opened in June of last year, and it took a while for the original decision to be made - that happened in February of this year. After that, numerous appeals started. Avax' offer was that they would build the 18 kilometres of this section for 511.5 million kuna, while the estimated value was 449.1 million kuna. The deadline for the completion of the works on this section is 28 months.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that the situation with the entirety of the southern section has been resolved: the other, still disputed section of the access road, Duboka - Sparagovići has still not been awarded to either of the companies, and the contracts for that section remain unsigned.

As Novac/Adriano Milovan writes on the 6th of September, 2019, the value of construction works in the Republic of Croatia in the second quarter of this year stood at 10.6 percent higher than it did in the same period last year, while in the first half of the year it increased by as much as 19.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

These promising results on the state of Croatia's construction sector, which like a multitude of other industries has suffered some unwelcome blows of late, were shown when looking at some of the new data taken from national statistics.

The value of new orders in Croatia's construction industry is also on the rise. According to the data taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics, in the second quarter of this year, the percentage of orders was 3.7 percent higher than it was during the same period last year, while in the first half of 2019, they were higher by a very encouraging 12.1 percent when compared to the first half of last year.

Nearly half of the construction work in the first six months of this year in Croatia was related to buildings.

Namely, in the structure of construction works during this period, 33.1 percent referred to non-residential buildings, and 15.2 percent referred to residential buildings.

Furthermore, 33.8 percent of the works relate to the construction of transport infrastructure, which can probably be primarily attributed to the construction of the long awaited Pelješac bridge, a strategic project down in Dalmatia, and the continuation of work on converting the Istrian Ypsilon into a highway, while 14 percent is related to pipelines, communication and power lines across the country.

Complex construction works on industrial premises accounted for 2.5 percent of total construction work in the first half of this year in Croatia, while construction work for other buildings which don't fall into the above-mentioned categories accounted for 1.4 percent of total construction work, the latest data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.

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ZAGREB, August 9, 2019 - The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures on Friday confirmed receipt of a complaint lodged by the Greek company J&P Avax against the Hrvatske Ceste road operator to award the Austrian construction company Strabag a contract to build the Duboka-Šparagovići section of access roads to the Pelješac Bridge.

On August 7, the Commission confirmed to Hina that Strabag had filed a complaint against the selection of 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 - Šparagovići-Prapratno and Prapratno-Doli.

Hrvatske Ceste on July 26 decided that the Ston bypass road and its sections Šparagovići -Prapratno and Prapratno-Doli should be built by Avax, whose bid amounted to 511.5 million kuna, while the Duboka-Šparagovići section was to be built by Strabag, whose offer amounted to 478.3 million kuna.

Complaints against those decisions could be filed within a period of ten days.

Tenders for the construction of the Šparagovići-Prapratno and Prapratno-Doli sections, which make up the southern, 18-kilometre-long part of access roads to the Pelješac Bridge, and for the construction of the 12-kilometre Duboka-Šparagovići section, were published last year but complaints by participants in the bidding procedure against decisions on the selection of contractors have been preventing the start of construction work on them.

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.

Thanks to exceptional efforts by Chinese workers, the Pelješac Bridge could 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.

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