If you want to go down to the Croatian Dubrovnik on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, you leave the EU for a brief moment.

Because a few kilometers of the coastal strip belong to Bosnia-Hercegovina.

However, if you translate to the Peljesac peninsula beforehand, you can save yourself crossing the border on the journey south.

In the future, this will be particularly easy, because from now on a bridge that is important for tourism connects the Croatian mainland with the offshore peninsula.

Andreas Mihm

Business correspondent for Austria, East-Central, Southeastern Europe and Turkey based in Vienna.

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After three years of construction, the last section of the 2.4 kilometer long two-lane Peljesac bridge was assembled these days.

It rests on six 33 meter high concrete pylons and consists of 13 sections, the five longest of which span 285 meters each.

The structure is the largest infrastructure project in Croatia and one of the largest bridge construction projects in the EU.

It will also be remembered as a great diplomatic bone of contention.

Because the costs, which according to the Croatian government, including the connecting lines, amount to 550 million euros, are borne largely by the EU (357 million euros) - but the contract for the construction was awarded to the Chinese state-owned China Communications Construction Company, which raised eyebrows in many places .

The two defeated European bidders, Austria's Strabag and an Italian-Turkish consortium, complained about anti-competitive distortions by the state-owned company.

However, they remained unsuccessful with the Croatian builders.

The Chinese are running several infrastructure projects in the Balkans as part of the “New Silk Road”.

These plans are criticized because of the high level of debt that this entails, as in Montenegro.

They are also considered to be a sign of the extensive economic and power-political interests of the People's Republic.

After all, as promised, the Chinese built the bridge within three years: it began at the end of July 2018 and was completed at the end of July 2021. By way of comparison: the Leverkusen Rhine bridge has been closed to heavy trucks since mid-2014.

The groundbreaking for the new building was at the end of 2017, and the time for commissioning is being discussed at the end of 2023.

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic praised the completion of the 165 steel segment bridging from Komarna to Brijesta as closing a gap with the EU and an important legacy of his government.

But travelers still have to be patient.

The connecting routes with two viaducts, three bridges and four tunnels are not yet accessible.

Transport Minister Oleg Butkovic announced that the route would be opened in the summer of next year.