New investments in infrastructure

Three new infrastructure contracts were signed on Sunday in Bucharest, in the presence of PM Viorica Dancila

Mihai Pelin, 15.04.2019, 13:16

Works on the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway, the first to cross the
Carpathians and designed to connect the south to the centre of Romania, will
begin soon. In Bucharest, the contract for the first 13-km segment has been
signed, with construction set to complete in 4 years. It is the first concrete
step taken in the last 10 years, said PM Viorica Dancila. The authorities also
signed the contracts for another segment in Bucharest’s south ring road and for
the underground in Drumul Taberei neighbourhood, in western Bucharest.

The Sibiu-Pitesti motorway is one of the major road infrastructure
projects, connecting with Pan-European Corridor 4, while the contract for the
design and construction of the Bucharest ring road segment will help streamline
traffic in Bucharest, the Prime Minister explained. Also, Viorica Dancila
added, the Metro Line 5 is another long-awaited project in Romania. Dancila
explained that the funds required for completing these projects are earmarked
in the national budget, but European funds will also be used.

Viorica Dancila: Signing the contract for the first section, Sibiu – Boita,
is the first concrete step taken in the past 10 years towards launching works
on the first Romanian motorway to cross the mountains. By signing the design
and building project for the 3rd segment of the Bucharest ring road,
around 18 km long, we’ve come closer to completing this project which will help
streamline traffic in the capital city.

In turn, the Transport Minister Razvan Cuc has urged contractors to
comply with the deadlines set for these projects and to show respect to
Romanian sub-contractors, while also warning that delays and apologies will not
be tolerated.

Razvan Cuc: Start contracts by beginning the design part already,
because there are companies that have signed contracts and have managed to
shorten the design stage. Stop scorning the Romanian sub-contractors! Pay them
in time! I will no longer have people telling me you do not pay the
sub-contractors in time, whereas the Romanian government pays all your invoices
in due time.

The first contract signed amounts to nearly 129 million euros and
will take 48 months to complete, said the Transport Minister, while the second
will be worth 180 million euros and will enhance mobility for both Bucharest
and the localities around the capital. As for the Metro Line 5, it will be rendered
operational by the end of the year.

The road infrastructure is disastrous in Romania. At the end of
2018, nearly 3 decades after the fall of the communist dictatorship and over 10
years since the country’s EU accession, Romania only had around 800 kilometres
of motorway, out of which 100 km were built in the communist years.