|
DUBROVNIK, Croatia, April 23-- Croatian highway operator Hrvatske Ceste (Croatia Roads) and the Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) signed a 2.08 billion kuna contract (340 million U.S. dollars) on Monday to construct the first phase of the Peljesac Bridge and access roads. The project is of long-term strategic importance for the whole country, said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in his speech, adding it would help Croatia become territorially integrated and was a top priority of his government. In an interview with Xinhua after the signing ceremony, Plenkovic reiterated that the bidding had gone through a transparent process in accordance with public procurement procedures of Croatia and European Union (EU) standards. "We have full confidence that with this type of expertise and already completed projects, China Road and Bridge Corporation will deliver within the time frame that is expected. I believe that this project will put a lot of substances in excellent relationship that we already have between China and Croatia, and this is a concrete economic contribution," the prime minister told Xinhua. The total value of the bridge project is estimated to be about 420 million euros (about 510 million U.S. dollars), of which 357 million euros (about 430 million U.S. dollars) will be covered by EU funds. Plenkovic said the bridge would be "a symbol of the added value of Croatia's EU membership". | 
