The Chinese partner in the construction of the Peljesac Bridge has not asked for an extension for the completion of works that may have been caused by the coronavirus, Croatian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic said on Friday.

Asked by reporters if there had been any problems in light of the coronavirus considering the number of Chinese workers on the site, Butkovic said that there had not been any request by the Chinese contractors to extend the completion deadline.

“However, we have heard that the factory where the steel structures are being manufactured, is currently not working. The national road management company, Hrvatske Ceste, is monitoring the situation. We will see, if the completion date should be extended for any reason, we will inform the public. At the moment we haven’t received any request to extend the deadline,” said Bukovic.

Butkovic attended a contract signing ceremony for works to improve the infrastructure in the northern coastal city of Rijeka – for the bulk terminal at Bakar port.

As many as 410 Chinese and 60 Croatian workers are working on the Peljesac Bridge construction.

The agreement for the construction of the bridge with access roads, worth HRK 2.08 billion without VAT, was signed on 23 April 2018 by Hrvatske Ceste and China Road and Bridge Corporation. Eighty-five percent of eligible costs are being covered by the EU.

The construction of the Peljesac Bridge is the first of four phases of a project for road connectivity with southern Dalmatia. The other phases include the construction of access roads, and the construction of the Ston bypass road. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 31 January 2022.