Ponta was accompanied by former liberal prime minister Calin Tariceanu, who was in office when works on the road started.
The four-lane 60 km highway was open to traffic Thursday even though one exit, toward Snagov, will only be finished next week, and parking lots and other required facilities have not been finished either. The speed limit on the highway will be 100km/hour.
The highway, whose costs rose to EUR450 million, is split into two sectors: Bucharest- Moara Vlasiei, built by Italian consortium Impressa Pizzarotti/ Tirrena Scavi, and Moara Vlasiei-Ploiesti, built by Spedition UMB/ Pa&Co International/ Euroconstruct ’98/ Com-Axa. The road was supposed to be finished and open to traffic in 2010 but works have been postponed several times.
Two weeks ago, Ponta said the Government will fine builders RON15 million for delays.