Croatian roads operator Hrvatske Ceste will sign an agreement with the China Road and Bridge Corporation on Monday for the construction of the Peljesac bridge, the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, announced in an interview with state broadcaster HRT on Tuesday.

Asked if the complaint filed with the Administrative Court by the Austrian company Strabag could delay the work, Butkovic said he could not comment on court cases.

The minister said that, after the agreement is signed, “some time” will pass before the building site is organised. “For us, all things have been brought to completion, and as for the court case, we will see how things unfold,” he said.

Butkovic announced that a new tolling system for the motorways would be decided by the end of this year or in the beginning of the next. Asked if this would affect toll tariffs, he said that the ministry’s aim was to restructure road-sector companies, increase their revenues and reduce their expenditures and maintenance costs, attract vehicles to use the motorways, and reduce tolls.

The Chinese consortium has offered to carry out the project for 2.08 billion kuna (€0.28 billion).

(1€ = 7.41 kuna)