The first construction works on the new Peljesac Bridge are due to be started on Monday. The Chinese consortium, China Road and Bridge Corporation, will carry out all the works on the bridge and access roads and the deadline for completion is 36 months.

Once completed the bridge, which is the largest infrastructure project in Croatia for decades, will connect Dubrovnik to the rest of the country. The bridge will make it easier for mainlanders to visit Dubrovnik and explore the nightlife, casinos for real money and many historical sites. The bridge aims at ensuring the territorial continuity of Croatia by connecting its mainland with the southernmost region, the Dubrovnik–Neretva County, while avoiding crossing Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Neum Corridor. By connecting the Croatian peninsula of Pelješac with the mainland, the bridge would span the part of the Adriatic Sea which separates the two near the Bay of Mali Ston and the Neretva Channel.

 And at a cost of 2.08 billion Kuna it is certainly one of the most expensive projects in Croatia for years.

And the search for workers has already begun. At the beginning of June the Chinese company advertised for eleven construction engineers, from chief engineers to safety officers. And it is rumoured that around a hundred construction workers from China are on their way to Dubrovnik to work on the bridge. Locals had hoped to find employment on this huge project but it would appear that Chinese workers will fill most of the positions.

If they weren’t’ able to find employment on the construction site then at least they will be able to rent out their apartments and homes to accommodate the Chinese workers. Wrong again. According to information from the Croatian daily newspaper, Slobodna Dalmacija, the Chinese company plans to bring a cruiser from China to house the workers.