“This bridge has been a hope, a longing, and a great ambition for the people of Čiovo and Trogir for decades. Its opening in the heart of the tourist season will significantly relieve the widely known traffic jams in Trogir, speed up the flow of people and deliveries, and practically enable part of Split to live in a better way,” said Plenković.
>>> Butković: The Čiovo Bridge is completed, opening in the next few days
“A bridge is always good news, and this one is fantastic news for Čiovo and Trogir that people have been waiting for generations,” Plenković told reporters after the opening of the Čiovo Bridge.
The Čiovo Bridge, he emphasized, is a concrete example that “we are realizing our major infrastructure projects.”
Residents who have been waiting for today’s day and the opening of the bridge for years have dubbed it the bridge of longing.
We can and we must!
“We can and we must, I have always said that it would be good to have a little less pessimism and a little more optimism,” Plenković responded when asked whether the completion of the Čiovo Bridge and the success of the national football team could be used for a better tomorrow? “The nation, after the phenomenal success of the national football team, is bursting with unity, pride, and optimism, and this should serve as an encouragement and inspiration in all spheres of social life. We understand this very well and even more so realize the responsibility of the moment and the responsibility we have received through the elections, the trust of Croatian voters,” said Plenković.
When asked how he, as Prime Minister and the Government, would offer new optimism, he replied – through work. “We will do this through daily work,” emphasized the Prime Minister, explaining how his Government has achieved a surplus in the state budget for the first time, which means that it behaves responsibly.
>>> The Čiovo Bridge has reached Trogir
“If we continuously raise our credit rating, reduce public debt, if all our macroeconomic indicators are good, if we are investing more in employment than any Government before us, if we are going into infrastructure projects of this nature (the Čiovo Bridge), if we have practically resolved all strategic issues in national security, if we are pursuing strategic projects in the energy sense that put us on the map of the world and Europe, if we are working responsibly, dedicatedly understanding all the impatience of our people and all possible accumulated unfulfilled desires and expectations – we are here to do the maximum we can based on our knowledge, experience, and desire to help our homeland. We do this every day,” he said.
In this context, he also recalled the Agrokor crisis, saying that things would have looked different if it had exploded. “It’s like an earthquake that never happens, so maybe people don’t see how much quality work has been done and how much negativity has been avoided,” added Prime Minister Plenković.
This year, a tender for the bridge near Gradiška Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković reminded that the Čiovo Bridge project, with access roads, cost around 32 million kuna, of which 85 percent are non-repayable funds from EU funds.
He also recalled the difficulties that accompanied its construction, the termination of the contract with the previous contractor, the announcement of a new tender…
>>> Butković: Work on the Pelješac Bridge is starting
He emphasized that activities related to the Pelješac Bridge are continuing, and this year a tender will be announced for the construction of the bridge near Gradiška, while next year the Svilaj Bridge on the corridor 5C will be opened.
The opening of the Čiovo Bridge was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Predrag Štromar, as well as ministers Lovro Kuščević, Gabrijela Žalac, and Drako Horvat.
