The main committee of the Bosniak ruling Party of Democratic Action (SDA) adopted a resolution on November 18 demanding that neighbouring Croatia to stop all activities on the planned Peljesac bridge until an international border is established, the party said in a statement. 

The project has been an ongoing topic of dispute between Bosnia and Croatia since 2007, when the construction of the bridge was first announced. The 2.4km Peljesac bridge will connect the Croatian mainland with the Peljesac peninsula, giving Croatia a continuous land link that bypasses Bosnian territory.

Croatia wants to build the bridge so its citizens can reach the south of the country without crossing into Bosnia. On the other hand, Bosnia has protested that the bridge would prevent large ships from entering the port of Neum.

SDA leader Halid Genjac said that “it is unacceptable to build the Peljesac bridge at the expense of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia & Herzegovina.”

“Before the construction, the border contract between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia, which was signed in 1999, should be ratified and the bridge should not put into question Bosnia & Herzegovina’s access right to open sea,” he added.

In June, the European Commission (EC) allocated €357mn of Cohesion Policy funds for the construction of the bridge.

Three months later, the lower chamber of Bosnia’s parliament adopted a declaration against the construction of Peljesac bridge. The deputy speakers of the Bosnian parliament’s two chambers, Sefik Dzaferovic and Safet Softic, had previously sent a letter to European parliament speaker Antonio Tajani, asking him to demand the halt of the planned construction of the bridge. 

Croatia's public roads company has already received three bids for the construction of the first phase of the bridge: from Italy’s Astaldi together with Turkey’s IC ICTAS, Germany’s Strabag and a Chinese consortium under the China Road and Bridge Cooperation name, Hina news agency reported. The value of works in the first phase, including access roads, has been estimated at HRK1.8bn (€241.2mn).