If you are a Croatian tourist and want to visit Dubrovnik, the southernmost part of the country, you may be surprised, why do you have to leave Croatia, enter Bosnia and Herzegovina, leave Bosnia and Herzegovina, and re-enter Croatia to arrive?
Known as the "Pearl of the Adriatic Sea", this port city is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Croatia. However, due to historical reasons, Dubrovnik's county, Dubrovnik-Neretva, was "divided in two" by the Bosnian town of Neum, resulting in the need to complete the above cumbersome entry and exit procedures.
It is worth expecting that just this year, arriving in this tourist city will eliminate the above cumbersome procedures, but only one step - crossing the bridge.
The bridge crossed is the Peljesac Bridge. This bridge project, which has completed the load test and is about to be accepted, is funded by the European Union and completed by China, and is the largest transportation infrastructure construction project in Croatia since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Croatia. When the project is completed, the bridge will cross the small Stone Bay in the Adriatic Sea, connecting the Croatian territory across the sea, ending the history of land passage in the southern and northern parts of Croatia to bypass bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2022, China-Croatia relations will enter the "year of establishment". The completion and opening of the Peljesac Bridge project will be another witness to the deep friendship between the two countries, and also mark the continued positive results of the cooperation between the two countries in jointly building the "Belt and Road".
In addition to the Peljesac Bridge, China and Croatia are also cooperating in the field of green development. As one of the eu member states, Croatia actively supports the commitment to the development of new energy sources by embracing the EU's 2050 target of carbon neutrality. In this context, the Croatian Seni Wind Power Project, which was built by Chinese enterprise Northern International Investment, is of great significance.
On May 14, Chinese Ambassador to Croatia Qi Qianqian wrote that the Seni wind power project invested and built by Chinese companies was successfully connected to the grid and can provide about 530 million kWh of clean electricity per year, which is in line with Croatia's development strategy of green energy transformation. At the same time, Cooperation between China and Croatia in agriculture, digital, innovation, health and other fields has also been steadily advancing, and the advantages of the two sides complement each other and the potential for cooperation is huge.
Infrastructure, green, around these two key words of China-Croatia cooperation has been smoothly launched, and the development is in full swing. In the next step, which development field will China and Croatia work together to move towards?
The Peljesac Bridge is about to come to a successful end
The construction of a bridge across the sea connecting the north and south territories is a common aspiration of the Croatian Government and people.
In 2013, Croatia joined the European Union, and the construction of the bridge was once again on the agenda. At this time, the Peljesac Bridge, in addition to having the role of connecting the local borders, was given the meaning of connecting the territory of the European Union.
Another five years have passed, and the opportunity has finally arrived. In January 2018, a consortium of Chinese enterprises led by China Road & Bridge Corporation won the €280 million contract for the Peljesac Cross-Sea Bridge and Link Project. In July of that year, the project officially started.
It is understood that the design of the Peljesac Bridge is 2440 meters, and the project is divided into three parts: the bridge, the island side and the mainland side connection line. Among them, the connecting line at both ends of the bridge extends to the Croatian national highway, and when completed, the bridge will become a key road connecting the main Croatian cities of Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Dubrovnik. The most important geographical significance is that, once completed, it will cross the small Stone Bay in the Adriatic Sea and connect the Croatian territory across the sea.
In 2022, the Peljesac Bridge will usher in its final year. Relevant people from the China Road Bridge Pelješac Bridge project told 21 reporters, "At present, the main construction and load test of the Pelješac Bridge have been completed, the construction of road connection lines and service area facilities is underway, and various finishing work has been carried out." It is expected that the peak period of this summer tourism season will play an important role as the main traffic carrier in the southern region of Croatia. ”
For the completion and opening of the traffic, the local people also have expectations. "We were impressed by the construction team that came from afar, the water quality was as clear as in previous years, and our worries proved superfluous." Peric, a major local oyster farmer, said. Previously, due to the extremely harsh water quality requirements of oysters, before the construction of the bridge, many local people were worried that the construction would affect the quality of the ocean.
Peric said that with the opportunity of the bridge's imminent completion and opening to traffic, he is ready to process and package more oysters for export, increase and optimize sales channels, and improve income levels.
It connects not only the north and south of Croatia, but also China and Croatia
For China, Croatia and Europe, the Peljesac Bridge is a key project. This project is not only the largest cooperation project between China and Croatia, but also the largest infrastructure project in Croatia at present, and it is also the largest single project funded by EU funds undertaken by Chinese enterprises.
Croatian Prime Minister Prenenkovic once said in an interview with the media that from the political, economic, transportation, tourism and other aspects, the Pelješac Bridge is a remarkable achievement. It connects not only the north and south territories of Croatia, but also Croatia and China.
"At the economic level, the completion and opening of the bridge will certainly have a revitalizing effect on local tourism and economic vitality, which is conducive to the recovery of Croatia's tourism industry." In an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald reporter, Xia Guohan, a researcher at the Chahar Society and founder of the Zonghengce think tank, said.
"At the same time, the Peljesac Bridge is a project funded and supervised by the European Union, and the construction of Chinese enterprises involves multiple partners, which has a demonstration effect on the EU infrastructure field and helps Chinese enterprises to carry out cooperation in foreign contracting projects in Europe." Wei Hongxu, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Center of Anbang Think Tank, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter.
It is worth noting that what are the particularities of the "Belt and Road" cooperation in the field of infrastructure? Wei Hongxu believes that "if China wants to expand economic, trade and investment ties with countries along the Belt and Road, the first thing to do is to improve infrastructure for these countries, including transportation and energy." At the same time, it has also improved the investment environment of these countries, which can be said to be a win-win situation. ”
Xia Guohan pointed out that it is better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish. "At present, the vast majority of developing countries lack not only capital and technology in economic development, but also the lack or scarcity of other aspects such as the policy environment. In recent years, China's support for other countries has basically been led by large-scale infrastructure, and infrastructure is a self-hematopoietic field, and It is the hematopoietic function that China provides. At present, the infrastructure level of developing countries is generally relatively low, and there is still a large gap in global infrastructure financing, from this point of view, China's next infrastructure cooperation project development potential is still very large. ”
Seni Wind Power Project Turns "Green Silk Road"
Green is another key word in Sino-Croatian cooperation.
Closely following the EU's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, Croatia is making a green transition, with renewables such as wind, solar and hydropower expected to account for 88% of Croatia's total electricity generation by 2025, becoming the main source of electricity.
Carbon neutrality on the left, "Green Silk Road" on the right, China and Croatia have launched cooperation in the field of new energy at the right time - the Seni Wind Power Project.
The project was undertaken by China North Industries Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "North International"), and the construction of the project officially started on September 25, 2019. The project is currently in the trial operation phase, and according to the plan, the project will provide 530 million kWh (KWH) of green electricity to Croatia per year, accounting for an estimated 3.5% of Croatia's electricity generation.
21 reporters learned from the Northern International Office that the total investment of the project reached 179 million euros. As of April 2022, the project has generated a total of 131 million kWh of electricity and achieved revenue of 203 million yuan. According to the work arrangement, by the end of 2022, the Seni wind power project will complete the Croatian national acceptance and achieve permanent commercial operation.
In Wei Hongxu's view, the significance of this project is not only its economic benefits, but more importantly, it plays an important role in supporting the long-term development of Croatia.
He said, "In the context of the intensification of the European energy crisis caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the role of the Seni wind power project has become more prominent, not only to help Croatia's energy stability in a certain sense, but also to become part of its long-term strategy for green development, from this point of view, it can be said to be of great significance." ”
It is worth noting that this is not only a model of green cooperation between China and Croatia, but also a model of green cooperation between China and Europe. On December 7, 2021, the Seni project was held in Zagreb, Croatia, where Plenkovic praised the project as "a model project for EU and China cooperation in the field of green energy".
Megan Richards, former director of the European Commission's Department of Energy Policy, has said that EU-China cooperation is a win-win move to promote the clean energy transition between the two sides.
A few days ago, the European Commission announced the "REPowerEU" energy plan, which involves up to 210 billion euros (about 1480 billion yuan) in the next five years, and intends to achieve energy independence through three major paths: saving energy use, producing clean energy, and diversifying energy supply.
Will there be opportunities in this? Wei Hongxu believes that "in the context of the acceleration of the EU's new energy strategy, the demand for new energy has increased significantly, China has a dominant position in the new energy industry and equipment manufacturing, on the one hand, there is demand, on the other hand, there is supply, the roles of the two sides are more compatible, which makes China and europe in the field of new energy will have great prospects for cooperation." ”
Wei Hongxu also mentioned that in addition to the field of wind power, there is another area worth noting - new energy vehicles. "In this regard, Chinese companies have made great progress and have a certain competitiveness compared with traditional European car companies. I believe that promoting the entry of Chinese electric vehicles into the European market will also have optimistic prospects, helping Europe to achieve its 'zero carbon' goal on schedule." At the same time, in terms of carbon trading market, cross-border carbon trading can also be explored to promote the formation of an international carbon market, thereby further promoting the green transformation. ”
Xia Guohan reminded, "At present, there is also a trend that is the anti-globalization highlighted by the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and whether European countries will shrink the industrial chain in this situation is worth thinking about." So I think in the area of green economy and carbon reduction, there may be a relationship of competition and cooperation between China and the EU. However, in the general direction, China and the EU will certainly maintain the direction of multilateral cooperation. ”
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