Moreover, while money was cut from Bucharest’s ring road after this summer’s budget revision, the budget allocated this year for DN 2D Focsani-Ojdula was supplemented by almost EUR6 million.
The situation of Bucharest’s ring road, with only 20 km of its 72 looking like a European ring road, shows how the roads authority has spent its money in the past few tears, as well as what its priorities have been.
One of the largest road infrastructure contracts of the last few years targets the upgrading of the Bengesti-Sebes segment of national road 67C, known as Transalpina. The contract amounted to around EUR335 million and targets a 148-km section. Bucharest’s ring road has a daily traffic of 144,000 vehicles travelling daily on the 72-km road, according to a census conducted by the roads authority CNADNR in 2010. On the other hand, on Transalpina traffic amounted to a little over 10,000 vehicles in 2010, according to the census. The rehabilitation of this road has not been completed yet, with there being no road barriers or road markings.
ZF has calculated daily traffic by adding together the traffic recorded on each road segment: the actual number of vehicles travelling on each road can be smaller, considering that a vehicle registered on one segment of a road can also be registered on the next or next few segments, depending on the vehicle’s route.
Road rehabilitation with a supplier credit
CNADNR has so far paid around 1.4 billion (EUR320 million) for Transalpina.
“The financing of this contract is not influenced by the budget revision, as this financing is provided though a supplier credit. We estimate this project will be completed by the end of 2012,” according to an answer sent by the roads authority and signed by Mircea Pop, the company’s manager. In a supplier credit, services are provided at a certain date at the expense of the construction company, but payment is made later.
Transalpina is the highest road in Romania and one of the oldest, but it is hard to justify the rehabilitation of this road with over EUR335 million before the completion of other major projects, such as Bucharest’s ring road. Transalpina has been rehabilitated by Romstrade, controlled by Nelu Iordache.
Another example of how the roads authority has prioritized its investments is the rehabilitation of DN 2D Focsani-Ojdula for which CNADNR has to pay over EUR170 million, which include additional costs agreed in the additional documents. So far the roads authority has paid RON652 million (EUR152 million at an average exchange rate of RON4.3 to the euro) for this road, and at this summer’s budget revision received RON105.6 million for this year, 24.1 million more than the initial budget. “We expect the works to be completed in 2013, on condition that the necessary financial resources are provided,” Mircea Pop specified. Focsani-Ojdula crosses Vrancei Mountains, is around 118-km long and has a daily traffic of around 10,500 vehicles.
Although the contract was awarded as early as five years ago to Spedition UMB, controlled by Dorinel Umbrarescu, the rehabilitation of this road has yet to be completed.
Priority investments with funds cut off
The question that arises is why one of the most travelled roads in Romania, Bucharest’s ring road, been left without funding, while the roads authority has spent hundreds of millions of euros for the rehabilitation of roads with much lower traffic? Why has a prioritization of road infrastructure projects not been made based on the traffic volume?
“This prioritization can definitely be challenged. The fact that investments such the one involving Bucharest’s ring road can be ‘cut off’ is a worrying signal,” says Laurentiu Plosceanu, president of the Romanian association of construction entrepreneurs (ARACO). Bucharest’s ring road should be the main commercial route of economic operators doing business in Bucharest. The summary of the revised budget of the Transport Ministry published on the website of the Finance Ministry shows that this year the amounts allocated for upgrading Bucharest’s ring road now amount to just around RON12.8 million, from an initial amount of RON209.4 million allocated at the beginning of this year. And this while CNADNR has from 2008 until the present signed five contracts to rehabilitate 50 km of the ring road, but has so far had no funds to do that.
The Transport Ministry has at this summer’s budget revision lost almost RON1.3 billion (EUR300 million). The largest amounts, around RON 516 million (EUR117.3), were removed from the funding of roads, which puts road infrastructure projects at risk.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)