No highway-building contract was signed in 2012, despite more than 100 kilometers of highways put up for tender as of mid year and set to cost almost EUR1 billion.
The most important ten contracts signed by CNADNR last year amount to about EUR200 million, over five times less than in 2011. One reason for the decline in amount is that the Transport Ministry, which includes CNADNR, was left with less money after the budget adjustment in the summer.
As requested by ZF, the national road and highways company sent a list of the largest ten contracts signed in 2012. Whereas highway construction projects made up most of this ranking in 2011, in 2012, Romania reverted to the 2007 – 2009 situation, when the biggest road infrastructure contracts were signed for road repair and strengthening, i.e. maintenance works.
However, the contracts signed in 2012 are worth much less than in previous years. In 2007, for instance, the top ten contracts signed by CNADNR were worth almost EUR300 million, according to the electronic public procurement system website elicitatie.ro.
There is also a difference when it comes to the names of the companies that won contracts. Whereas in previous years most winners were Romanian entities, such as Spedition UMB and Romstrade, as of 2008, foreign builders have been winning large contracts. Names like Copisa Constructora Piraneica (Spain), Alpine Bau and Porr Bau (Austria) won the main road infrastructure contracts in 2012, while few Romanian construction companies managed to secure a big contract. One of them was Vectra Service, controlled by businessman Marcel Butuza, which signed a EUR22 million contract for the second section of the Brasov city bypass (central Romania).
“Unfortunately, 2012 was a failure of a year in terms of construction sector increase. Expectations were high, particularly because it was an election year,” said Laurentiu Plosceanu, chairman of the association of construction contractors, ARACO. “Then the government changed, several rounds of elections were held that caused delays and changes in the decision-making policy about investments (…)”
The biggest contract signed by CNADNR last year entailed repairs on the national road (DN) 76 Beius-Oradea (NW Romania), which cost EUR36 million. Second most important was the repair work on DN 66 Bumbesti Jiu-Petrosani (southern Romania) for EUR33.6 million and the first section of the Brasov city bypass, EUR29.1 million.
Expectations for new road infrastructure tenders in 2013 are not that high, either, considering the state budget only has funding available for the roads under construction or repair, and not for any new contracts.
“Expectations for the performance of the construction industry in 2013 are very cautious, considering no major investments have been announced,” ARACO’s Plosceanu said.
Major road and railway infrastructure projects will get 881 million lei (about EUR200 million) from the state budget and some of it will go to payment of work already done, according to the budget draft on the Finance Ministry’s website.
No new highway was included in the list of main infrastructure projects funded in 2013, despite tenders to award almost EUR1 billion contracts for the construction of 100 kilometers of highway part of the European Corridor IV still in progress.
There is also no news about the Targu-Mures – Iasi, (central to NE Romania), Bucharest-Craiova-Timisoara (southern to western Romania) or Bucharest-Focsani-Pascani (southern to NE Romania) highways announced in the government program of the Ponta II Cabinet in December 2012.
2013 is the first year when infrastructure projects of national importance were divided between two ministries. Highways and national roads went to Dan Sova, the delegate minister for major infrastructure projects of national interest and foreign investment, while the railway, airport, waterway and subway infrastructure went to transport minister Relu Fenechiu.
It is yet unclear how the national road and highway company will operate in the future, because the new government plans to split it into two separate entities, a road company that should go to the Transport Ministry and a highway company reporting to Dan Coman Sova.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)