On April 11 prime ministers Plenković and Keqiang visited the construction site of the Pelješac Bridge. They symbolically lowered into the sea the last and biggest pylon from the first construction phase, the biggest of the 150 that will constitute the centre of the bridge, after which they unveiled a plaque to commemorate the completion of the first construction phase. The planting of the biggest pylon into the sea floor marked the completion of the first construction phase.
Addressing the audience, the Croatian prime minister said that construction-wise the bridge was one of the most important bridges built in Europe in the past decade. „It is worth mentioning that the total weight of the bridge, its underwater and above-water structure, is 80 thousand tonnes of steel, and it means that it will weigh as ten Eiffel Towers,“ the prime minister said. „This shows what kind of endeavour we are talking about and what capabilities China Road and Bridge Corporation has when it is planting these pylons, which, at 130 meters, are practically among the longest in the history of the bridge construction in the world,“ Prime Minister Plenković said. He added that the project gave the cooperation between China and Croatia a completely new dimension.
„We in China say that after the rain comes a rainbow, therefore the bridge, once it’s built, will be a rainbow on the Earth and the Chinese builders will be able to celebrate one such miracle with their Croatian friends,“ Prime Minister Keqiang said standing on the location of the future bridge. He also stated the importance of the project for the cooperation of his country with the European Union.

Despite the silty soil the works on the bridge construction are making a good progress which was witnessed both by the prime ministers and the members of their delegations.
The delegation that visited the construction site together with the prime ministers included Mr. Liu Qitao, CCCC Chairman, Mr. Wenn Gang, Vice President of CCCC, Mr. Lu Shan, CRBC Chairman, Mr. Ye Chengying and Mr. Zhang Xiaoyuan, vice presidents of CRBC and Mr. Chu Yili, marketing director of CCCC Oversea.

Ivo Čagalj/PIXSELL

Damir SenčaR/HINA/POOL/PIXSELL

Damir SenčaR/HINA/POOL/PIXSELL

Ivo Čagalj/PIXSELL