Vinci-Aktor consortium to build 58 km of Romanian motorway for 1.5 bln euro

Miercuri, 13 mai 2009, 17:41 English | Business

A consortium formed of Vinci Concession, Aktor Concession, Vinci Construction Grand Projets and Aktor is the winner of a tender for the construction of a section of a major motorway linking Bucharest with the central and western parts of the country. The contract, valued at 1.5 bln euro, eyes the section between Comarnic, about 80 km north of Bucharest, and Brasov, central Romania.

It is a first 30-year concession contract for construction works in Romania.

Romanian Transport minister Radu Berceanu says construction works would start in 2010 and would last four years, so the highway would be open for traffic by 2014. Once the concession contract expires, the state would have to extend the period of highway administration, organize a new tender or take over the administration via a state company.

The concession means contracting firms would build the highway using their own funds and then have the Romanian state pay 180 million euro yearly for 26 years.

According to Berceanu, the motorway section extends for 58 kilometers and the value of the contract amounts to 1.5 billion euro. Expropriations along the route are not a problem as they've already been accomplished 80%.

Technical assistance was provided by a consortium of Louis Berger, Credit Invest and Tuca Zbarcea&Associatii in a contract valued at 3.9 million euro.