Croatian media present Pelješac Bridge as a done deal, Jusko says no construction without BiH Parliament and Council of Ministers

Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed an agreement in Neum today on the joint construction of a bridge over the Sava River near Svilaj, and Croatian Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković and Minister of Communications and Transport of BiH Ismir Jusko also spoke about the construction of the Pelješac Bridge. In a statement to the BiH news agency Patria, Jusko explained what kind of documents he would bring before the BiH Parliament and Council of Ministers.

Croatian media today published that there are no obstacles to the construction of the Pelješac Bridge, which Butković called Croatia's greatest strategic interest. However, Jusko clarifies that he only received information today that eight people from BiH have been involved in the project development process since 2006 and that they have agreed to some construction provisions, and that he is bringing these documents to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. But, far from it being a done and final deal.

- Expert teams from BiH and Croatia agreed on positions regarding the Pelješac Bridge back in 2006. If the expert bodies of BiH and Croatia have already agreed on these issues, I see nothing controversial here and I will be free to forward the materials I received today to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. Because, the Ministry of Transport, nor any other ministry, is the one that decides on such matters - Minister Jusko told Patria.

The BiH Minister of Transport further says that in Neum today, they also showed him conceptual design renderings for the Pelješac Bridge; it would be 55 meters high, with a 280-meter gap between the support pillars.

- Today I received assurances that our people at the time requested a bridge height of 55 meters. Also, today I heard that the largest ship that has ever entered Croatia can pass through that passage, because its height is 45 meters – Jusko added.

There is an earlier decision by the BiH Presidency stating that the Pelješac Bridge cannot be built without the full consent of the two countries, and consent cannot be given until the issue of the maritime border in the Neum Bay is resolved.

This is a construct that will cross over BiH territorial waters, internal sea, and BiH's maritime segment that leads to international waters.

- We have the right to international waters via the corridor that goes from Neum to Korčula. Every country that has access to the sea, even if it's just a meter, has the right to international waters. We have a corridor of approximately 60 kilometers, i.e., from Neum Bay, between Hvar and Korčula, and further to the open sea. If someone wants to build a bridge, they must turn to an arbitration court in Hamburg, Strasbourg, or wherever they wish, because these matters are resolved judicially. Otherwise, it is aggression. No one can build anything on someone else's territory. How else will we reach international waters than by a water corridor – previously warned academician Ibrahim Bušatlija, an expert in geomorphology and a member of the Maritime Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina.