The budget allocated for the Brasov-Bors motorway, a contract directly awarded to US-based Bechtel is 2.242bn euros, VAT not included, US Embassy sources say.
Thus, the costs for building one kilometre of motorway revolve around 5.4 million euros, while other ongoing projects in Western Europe see costs per kilometre at 1.98 – 3.96 million euros, the representatives of the Romanian Association of Construction Contractors (ARACO) say. The European Commission has already launched a probe into the project, as specified by the Commission representatives in Bucharest, while US Embassy sources say this is not an investigation, which cannot be opened unless a EU member state files a complaint.
The initial price of the works, as estimated by the Romanian party was even higher, but fell to the stated level following talks, the quoted sources add.
“The Government wanted this contract closed with Bechtel because it saw its work in Croatia. The value of the works on the Brasov-Bors motorway was initially estimated by the Romanian authorities at 2.519bn euros, that is 6.1 million euros per kilometre, but the negotiations with Bechtel resulted in an over 10% price cut to 2.242bn euros, that is 5.4 million euros per kilometre,” the quoted sources said. The aforementioned prices are VAT exclusive. Further reductions in total cost can be obtained through a reduction in the final prices for five of the key commodities necessary for the works, which are manufactured in Romania, the sources add.
The balance of the overall project budget covers the cost of land acquisition, archaeological works, permits and legal fees, engineering and utility relocation.
On the other hand, the total investment fully born by the Romanian Government (costs of funding included) amounts to 3.433bn euros to build the 415 km long Bors – Oradea – Cluj-Napoca – Targu Mures – Brasov motorway. The motorway has two lanes per way and a service lane, with the project set to begin in 2004 and be completed in 2012, according to governmental documents.
Moreover, the ARACO officials say there are 14 priority motorway projects in progress at the moment, as part of a programme endorsed by the Council of Europe, which are done at much lower costs than those in the Bechtel contract.
“I can provide examples of motorways and construction costs out of the 14 projects. There is the Lisbon (Portugal) – Valladolid (Spain) motorway, for instance, which is 489 km long, has three traffic lanes plus one service lane per way and costs 972 million euros (…),” says Liviu Daschievici, ARACO’s general manager.
adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro