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«——【·Preface·】——»
A sea-crossing bridge has directly turned the two countries upside down, and the builder of this sea-crossing bridge is another outstanding achievement created by China, which enjoys the title of "infrastructure madness" in the world!
The bridge was the first in China to be funded by a European country, and after its completion, it not only showed the true ability of China's "infrastructure madness", but also had an impact on the fate of the two countries, killing three birds with one stone.
So, what is the reason why the opening of this sea-crossing bridge has a direct impact on the fate of the two countries?
It is planned to build a bridge across the sea
Surrounded by the mountains of Cabo Broka, the town of Pelješac stands quietly, and its name means "stone side" in Croatian.
Formerly a Croat colony in Yugoslavia, it is now an enclave in Croatia.
The Pelješac Peninsula and mainland Croatia are separated by a body of water, but they can only look at each other in a seemingly close and easily accessible land.
However, to get there, the Croats had to go through a lot of hardship, and before the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Pelješac Peninsula was part of the same camp as the Croatian mainland, and the Croats only had to pass through the territory of what was then Bosnia and Herzegovina.
All changes came to an abrupt halt in those turbulent years, when Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent, and an invisible border suddenly separated the Pelješac peninsula from Croatia proper.
To get to Pelješac, the Croats could no longer cross the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the two places that were once "closely connected" were so rigidly separated.
Since then, Croats have had to cross the border between the two countries by boat or on foot, spending countless hours on the road and passing through customs checks in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina twice.
The two places, which were once close at hand, connected like a belt of clothes, suddenly produced a huge distance that seemed to be far away from the sky and close at hand.
As a result, the Croats had to start thinking about building a bridge that would directly connect the mainland with the Pelješac peninsula, allowing people and goods to travel freely between the two places, but it was not an easy task to build the bridge.
Although Bosnia and Herzegovina is not as close to Croatia as it once was, the two countries are still neighbors and there are still some territorial entanglements, the largest of which is the port in the city of Nem, which is the only access point to the sea.
As soon as the Croatian plan to build the bridge was proposed, the Bosnia and Herzegovina were keenly aware that something was wrong, because the route chosen for the bridge was across the Ném Harbor, and once the bridge was built, Bosnia and Herzegovina's maritime trade was likely to be very seriously affected.
Moreover, the bridge that Croatia wants to build is by no means just an ordinary sea-crossing bridge.
According to information learned from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the main span of the bridge would have to be a staggering 590 meters long in order for cargo ships to pass through, and the bridge would have to be raised to a certain height.
In addition to these, Croatia also needs to comply with a series of stringent requirements from the European Union, such as all steel piles must be driven in one go, construction waste must be disposed of centrally, and so on.
It can be said that this seemingly inconspicuous bridge project is actually very complex and far from being able to do it by the Croatian construction team.
As soon as the plan to build the bridge is implemented, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a neighboring country, will inevitably be affected, and on this basis, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina directly opposes Croatia's plan to build the bridge.
Under the resolute protest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, although Croatia repeatedly proposed to repair the bridge, it never took the first step, and the two sides fell directly into the dilemma of negotiations, until later, when an unexpected country reached out to help, the situation finally took a turn.
The bridge was built by China
The problems with the construction of the bridge were also really scratching their heads, and at first, they planned to look for partners within the European Union, hoping to find a construction contractor with sufficient strength.
But unexpectedly, the Croats quickly rejected them, because the price offered by the EU construction team was too high and far from what Croatia could afford.
Just as the Croats were about to give up, an unexpected choice immediately struck them when a self-proclaimed "cheap" construction company in India approached them and offered to take on the project.
When the Croatian government heard the words "low price", it naturally smiled, after all, the cost of repairing the bridge has always been their biggest concern.
But soon, new doubts arose: Is the Indian company really strong enough for such a complex project? If there is a quality problem, it will be wasted.
While the Croatian side was hesitating, a Chinese company appeared, hoping to prove itself through the bridge project, known as the "Project of the Century", so it showed great interest in Croatia.
After some discussions, the Croatian side was finally convinced by the terms of the Chinese company, and the two sides soon signed a formal contract.
According to the agreement, all the contents of this bridge project, including bridges, highways, pipelines, etc., will be contracted by Chinese companies.
At the beginning of construction, the Chinese engineering team showed extremely high efficiency, and they introduced a series of advanced construction equipment.
What's even more amazing is that even though some unfavorable factors such as the epidemic were unfortunately encountered in the middle, the whole project was still progressing extremely quickly, and finally completed half a year ahead of schedule at the beginning of 2021!
And the quality of the bridge is very good, and the environmental protection level also meets the requirements of the European Union, each of which exceeds the contract requirements.
In just a few months, the once seemingly unattainable dream of the Croatians has become a reality in the hands of the Chinese engineering team.
Changed two countries
The construction of the Peljesac Bridge not only solved the long-term traffic problems for Croatia, but also indirectly resolved the contradictions with Bosnia and Herzegovina in unexpected places.
Now, Croats no longer have to make a detour through the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina to their peninsula territory, and it will be easier for ordinary people to travel not only more easily but also to ordinary people.
As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, although there were concerns at the beginning, the final result was good, and their rights and interests were fully protected.
The main span of the bridge is cleverly designed to be high enough that it will not have any impact on shipping in the port of Nem, cargo ships can come and go freely, and maritime trade activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina can run as usual.
In addition to this, Croatia will also have to pay a considerable amount of transit costs in order to obtain permission from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is more expensive but more acceptable than the benefits of building the bridge.
What is even more valuable is that the construction of the Peljesac Bridge has prevented the continued deterioration of potential contradictions between Croatia and Poland.
If there is no bridge, Croatia will certainly continue to use the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to reach the Pelješac peninsula, which will inevitably trigger a violent territorial dispute between the two countries and cause serious damage to relations between neighboring countries.
But with this bridge, the contradictions between the two sides can be well resolved, Croatia has its own exclusive access, no longer needs to go through Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is protected.
Today, even the most ordinary people can travel freely between Pelješac and mainland Croatia in just a few dozen minutes' drive.
Of course, from the perspective of the whole project, the biggest winner is undoubtedly the Chinese company, the main span of the Peljesac Bridge is 590 meters long, and the technical difficulty of the project can be imagined.
But in the end, the Chinese company not only completed the project half a year ahead of schedule, but also the quality of the project was at the top level, which perfectly presented the strength of the Chinese company.