The last section of the A5 motorway on the Croatian part of the 5C corridor, from Beli Manastir to the Hungarian border, was put into traffic on Monday, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on that occasion that Croatia has thus completely fulfilled its part of the obligations in the construction of that international corridor, which is the lifeblood of economic development in this part of Europe.
Plenković pointed out that most of the section of that corridor that needs to be built is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where about 200 kilometers more are to be built, and when that part is completed, traffic intensity and development momentum will be felt because that highway will connect the countries of Central Europe, Hina reported.
“We have made the lifeblood of the economic development of this part of Europe. This is especially important for the relations between Croatia and Hungary, and I think that our relations will gain intensity, that connectivity, exchange, economic relations will also gain a new and stronger dimension with this project. This road also has its own important political dimension and I am sure that it will contribute to the improvement of relations between Croatia and Hungary,” said Prime Minister Plenković.
He also stated that Croatia is aware of its Central European and Danube identity and that these are precisely the dimensions that connect Croatia and Hungary throughout history, today, and in the future.
He recalled that at one time there was consideration that instead of a four-lane highway, only two lanes would be built here, which would be completely in disagreement with the concept of the European corridor.
“We decided to return that project to its original settings, and I believe that our decision will have far-reaching positive consequences for development and mutual cooperation in the future,” added Plenković.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković pointed out that today Croatia completed all 88 kilometers of the highway on the 5C corridor.
“After many years, we connected Croatia with Hungary and Central Europe by highway, which is important because there was an idea to abandon this project, but in 2019 we made the decision to complete the construction of the full four-way profile of the 5C corridor through Croatia,” said Butković.
According to him, all this is the result of the investment cycle in transport infrastructure, which is at a very good level in Croatia today.
“It remains for us to build expressways to certain continental centers and near Split, and then invest the most in railway infrastructure,” said Minister Butković.
Croatia has invested more than 875 million euros in Corridor 5C.
