Romania’s national roads authority CNADNR did not say why costs have doubled.
The roads authority put up for auction the construction of the Sebes-Turda highway in July, at an estimated cost of almost 2.5 billion lei (EUR554 million) or almost EUR8 million per km. But at the end of last week the government adopted a decision modifying another decision from back in 2008 to approve the technical –economic indicators for the Sebes-Turda expressway.
“The total value of the investment is RON4.6 billion (EUR1.03 billion), with the financing being done from the cohesion fund and from the state budget, through the budget of the Government’s General Secretariat, for the Department for Infrastructure Projects and Foreign Investments,” reads the press information sent by the government.
Instead of a highway linking Sebes and Turda, now there is talk of an expressway and in addition the government has adopted a decision whereby the cost of a km of highway between Sebes and Turda is almost EUR15 million, according to ZF calculations. But the press information sent by the government does not explain if the new price concerns only construction cost, or if other costs, such as for expropriation, are included as well.
Neither the Department for Infrastructure and Foreign Investments, to which the roads authority is subordinated, nor the government have answered ZF’s request for information as to why the government doubled the cost of the Sebes-Turda highway through its Friday decision.
But one thing is certain, the road linking Sebes and Turda is set to be financed with European money. The road, which will connect Paneuropean Corridor IV, currently under construction, and Transilvania Highway, whose construction is currently uncertain, will be 85% financed from European funds, with the rest of the money to come from the state budget.
Shirin Wheeler, spokesperson for regional politics within the European Commission, says the European Commission is familiar with the project and has modified the program of granting EU funds so that Sebes-Turda can be co-financed with structural funds.
But she adds that the EU authorities have not received a request from the Romanian state for EU funds to be used for this project, so no detailed discussion has taken place.
Highway or expressway?
Originally the roads authority was planning to build the Sebes-Turda road as an expressway, which normally costs less than a highway. But plans changed after the Sebes-Turda highway was at the beginning of May declared by Brussels eligible for construction with EU money during the 2007-2013 financial period. So the question is why the government at the end of last week adopted a decision that mentions building an expressway, not a highway.
The auction for the road between Sebes and Turda is ongoing.
The contract for the Sebes-Turda segment will be assigned to the construction company that offers the lowest price. The duration of construction is 22 months – 4 months for the designing and 18 months for the actual construction.
In other words, if a winner is designated by the end of the year, the highway should be completed by the end of 2015 or early 2016 at the latest, according to ZF calculations.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)