Croatia opens work on EU-funded bridge opposed by Bosnia

Construction formally started Monday in Croatia on an important bridge that the European Union is financing but has been strongly opposed by neighboring Bosnia.

The Peljesac Bridge in southern Croatia is designed to connect two swaths of Adriatic Sea coastline and circumvents a small stretch of Bosnia's territory.

The bridge is crucial for Croatia because it connects the European Union country's two main tourist attractions — the medieval walled town of Dubrovnik and the main port of Split — with the rest of the coastline. Currently, tourists wishing to drive to or from Dubrovnik have to pass through some 20 kilometers (15 miles) of Bosnia's coast, including two border checkpoints.

Croatia awarded the construction contract to a Chinese consortium, the state-owned Road and Bridge Corporation, despite protests from Austrian and Italian-Turkish bidders that it violated EU regulations.

Croatian officials said the project is expected to cost 540 million euros, with the EU funding 85 percent of it.

Officials said Monday that the 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) bridge should be finished in three years and additional infrastructure is expected to be completed by 2022.

The Muslim head of Bosnia's three-member residency, Bakir Izetbegovic, said Monday that the bridge violates Bosnia's sovereign access to open seas in the Adriatic. Izetbegovic suggested the country will take the issue to international courts, a move that is unlikely to win necessary support from Bosnia's Croats.

"Bosnia does not deny Croatia's rights. All we want is the respect of our rights," Izetbegovic said in a statement.

Croatian officials have dismissed Bosnia's protests.

Josip Skoric, who heads Croatia's state road company, said that Monday's ceremony marked the formal start of the three-year deadline for the construction of the bridge. He said the Chinese company's equipment and construction ships are expected in the area at the end of August or in early September.

Previous Croatian attempts to build the bridge have failed due to economic and political reasons. Tourism provides the key income for Croatia's economy, which remains one of the weakest in the EU.