Opening of the Hercegovina Bridge and 11 km of Highway on September 4th with Plenković, Croatian Music of Mostar, Klapa Drača, Fireworks...

(Patria) - The ceremonial opening of the Počitelj-Zvirovići sub-section and the Hercegovina Bridge will be held on September 4th starting at 7 PM.

According to the announcement sent to the media, Denis Lasić, Director of JP Autoceste FBiH, Nermin Nikšić, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, and Borjana Krišto, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, will address the attendees.

Numerous representatives of economic, political, and public life from both BiH and the Republic of Croatia, as well as international officials, will attend the opening ceremony of the Počitelj-Zvirovići sub-section and the Hercegovina Bridge.

The ceremony will begin at 7 PM with a festive program enriched by performances from Hrvatska glazba Mostar, Klapa Drača, Antonija Batinić, and HKUD Rodoč, and the program will be hosted by Sanja Pehar.

With the ribbon-cutting ceremony and spectacular fireworks displayed along the bridge, the Počitelj - Zvirovići sub-section and the Hercegovina Bridge will be officially opened.

The opening of the Počitelj-Zvirovići sub-section and the Hercegovina Bridge to regular traffic is planned for the following day, September 5th, at 12 PM.

From September 1st to 5th, toll collection on the Zvirovići - Bijača sub-section will be suspended for technical reasons related to the transition from an open to a closed toll collection system.

The Hercegovina Bridge is part of the highway on the pan-European Corridor Vc passing through BiH, and it is an integral and the most significant structure on the Počitelj - Zvirovići sub-section. The length of the sub-section is 11.07 km and it is divided into two LOTs.

LOT 1 includes the highway route of over 10 kilometers, featuring significant structures: the Počitelj Interchange with a toll station and access roads, an Inter-regional junction, three viaducts, a tunnel, and an open route.

LOT 2 is the impressive Hercegovina Bridge, 980 meters long. The bridge piers crossing the Neretva River are 92.97, 92, 91, 88, and 66 meters high, making it the tallest bridge on Corridor Vc and one of the tallest bridges in this part of Europe. It is also one of the most complex infrastructure objects on the entire Corridor Vc.

In terms of construction method, it is a continuous prestressed reinforced concrete bridge with a box girder cross-section, built using the free cantilever construction technique.

With the opening of the Počitelj-Zvirovići sub-section and the Hercegovina Bridge, this part of BiH will be directly connected to the European Union, specifically to the Bijača border crossing. The importance of this project lies in its potential to stimulate economic development and create conditions for the growth and progress of this part of the country.

The works on the bridge were carried out by the consortium Azvirt Limited Liability Company (Azerbaijan), Sinohydro Corporation Limited (China), and Powerchina Roadbridge Group Co. Ltd. (China).

Supervision of the construction was entrusted to IRD Engineering S.R.L. (Italy), and the design work was carried out by IPSA INSTITUT d.o.o. Sarajevo and DIVEL d.o.o. Sarajevo.

The construction of the bridge was financed by funds secured under the Loan Agreement concluded with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and grants from the European Union, secured within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).

The total value of the works on the Počitelj - Zvirovići sub-section is 101,379,722.70 euros excluding VAT, of which 30,439,551.76 euros excluding VAT was for the Hercegovina Bridge itself.