ZAGREB, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Along with the construction of the Peljesac bridge, Croatia's priorities also include the railway line linking Zagreb and Rijeka and the construction of a highway from Ploce to Dubrovnik, Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butkovic said on Sunday.

The minister told Xinhua that for the construction of the Peljesac bridge, Croatia has chosen a serious contractor, the Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation. "In three years from now, Croatia will have one of the most beautiful bridges in Europe," said Butkovic. The Chinese consortium is in the preparation process before the beginning of the field research.

Now for Croatia, the priorities are the construction of a 100-kilometer highway from Ploce to Dubrovnik. The Croatian minister said the 400 million kuna (63 million U.S. dollars) deal is "open to everyone," including Chinese companies. A tender is expected to be announced by the end of the year for the continuation of works on the construction of the highway.

Croatia also has ambitious plans for reconstruction of the railway sector, and for the most part European Union (EU) funds will be used.

The rebuilding of the 680-million-kuna (107 million U.S. dollars) Vinkovci-Vukovar line and the 614-million-kuna (97 million U.S. dollars) Zapresic-Zabok railroad project have got support of the EU funds. By the end of the year, an EU contract for the construction and reconstruction of the Krizevci-Koprivnica-Hungarian border railway will be signed in the amount of 300 million euros (350 million U.S. dollars) and the World Bank will finance the reconstruction of the line from Podsused to Zagreb.

The project for the construction of the railway line from Zagreb to Rijeka is being prepared. By 2019, a tender for railway sections from Leskovac to Karlovac will be announced and Croatia expects the EU to be involved in project financing.