Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Wednesday marked the formal start of construction work on a bridge between the southern Peljesac peninsula and the mainland, saying that the bridge would provide a link between the southernmost part of Croatia and the rest of the country and revitalise the peninsula and nearby islands.
Addressing the ceremony, Sanader said that this was a historic day for Croatia because the Peljesac bridge would link the country together for the first time in several hundred years and would "pull the Croatian south out of isolation."
The bridge will bypass a short stretch of land at Neum, Bosnia-Herzegovina's only outlet to the sea, which cuts off the southernmost tip of Croatia, including Dubrovnik, from the rest of the country.
"Our message to our Bosnian friends is that this bridge is not against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but that first and foremost it will benefit Croatia and will not stand in the way of anyone wishing to travel to Neum by ship," Sanader said. "We respected the right of Croatia to connect two stretches of its territory, Komarna and Peljesac, and we also respected the right of Bosnia-Herzegovina to unobstructed passage," he added.
"The message we are sending out to everyone, to our neighbours and first and foremost to the Croatian public, is that this is a good and beneficial project, that it is not directed against anyone, but that it is for everyone, and that its purpose is to provide a territorial link and revitalise Peljesac, Korcula, Mljet, Lastovo and other islands near Peljesac," the Prime Minister said.
The ceremony was also addressed by the Minister of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development, Bozidar Kalmeta, who said that the Peljesac bridge, along with the Ploce Port and Dubrovnik Port projects and the planned construction of a fast road between Dubrovnik and its airport, was one of the four major investment projects in Dubrovnik-Neretva County worth HRK 9 billion (EUR 1.23 billion) in total. (Hina)