Our key aim is to lobby for the inclusion of the Dubrovnik section into the Adriatic-Ionian route which will also cover the construction of the Peljesac bridge with co-financing from the European Union's funds, Minister Hajdas Doncic told reporters during his visit to Split on Monday.

According to him, six percent of the construction work on the bridge had been done by 2010 when the building companies stopped work because there were no more funds for that purpose.

The Peljesac bridge is viewed as a long-term transport connection with the Dubrovnik area, southernmost Croatia. The future bridge between Croatia's mainland and its peninsula of Peljesac would bypass a stretch of the coast at Neum where Bosnia and Herzegovina has access to the Adriatic Sea and would ensure Croatia's territorial continuity. The transit of people across the border and transit through Neum, until a permanent solution is found as to how to connect parts of Croatian and hence EU territory, was considered during Croatia's EU entry talks.

Minister Hajdas Doncic believes that a short-term solution for connecting Croatia's territory upon its entry into the European Union on 1 July 2013 could be a ferry service from Komarna to Brijesta provided that the authorities of Dubrovnik-Neretva county change the physical plan to enable the construction of a ferry dock in Komarna.

"We will most probably have additional ferry services between Ploce and Trpanj for the transport of livestock and shellfish as they will not be allowed to pass through the Neum corridor," he said.