Work on the Nadlac-Arad, Lugoj-Deva (section 1) and Orastie-Sibiu started in 2011 and should have been completed by April this year. The deadline for the completion of Nadlac-Arad (section 1) is unknown, because the contract with businessman Nelu Iordache’s Romstrade was terminated last fall.
The second section of the Nadlac-Arad highway should be opened in August at best, but its builder complained about having trouble collecting the money for the work done.
“We’ve had some payment problems. (…) We believe the project can be completed by end August. If, and I repeat, if the beneficiary is able to finance it (…),” says Ionel Giuglea, general manager of Austrian-held Alpine, which is building the second section of Nadlac-Arad highway.
August is also when the 24-kilometer long first section of the Orastie-Sibiu highway should be opened for traffic, which was almost 50% completed at the beginning of the last winter month. The contractual deadline was April 2013, though.
“The first 2 kilometers from Orastie will open o May 10. The rest of the section up to Sebes will be done in August 2013,” said Paula Rys, representative of Strabag, the builder of the section.
This highway section was almost 48% done by late February and the builder collected about EUR52 million from the EUR131 million contract, according to the data of Romania’s national company in charge of highways and national roads, CNADNR.
On the other hand, the Deva-Orastie highway initially had February as its deadline, after the first 15 kilometers had been opened in December 2012.
Strabag, which works with Romanian-owned Straco Group on this highway, said it would be completed on May 10.
It was 84% done in early February and the two construction companies have collected about EUR142 million of the almost EUR200 million contract, according to CNADNR.
The chances of all the other sections, such as 2, 3 and 4 of the Orastie-Sibiu or section 1 of Lugoj-Deva highways being completed within the month as stipulated in the contract are rather slim, considering most of them were only 50% to 60% done in early February.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)