Bechtel Lowers Price For Transylvania Hwy, After „Tough” Negotiations – ProTV

The TV station cites sources in the Transport Ministry, who said „tough negotiations” have resulted in Bechtel renouncing some of its demands, in exchange for the payment of a part of the state’s debts. The new deal will be signed and approved by the Government.

The Brasov-Bors section’s price per kilometer is still very high, ProTV points out – in some areas as much as EUR30 million per km. The TV station compares this to the Deva-Orastie highway, which is being built for EUR7 million per km, and the Arad-Timisoara highway, which costs EUR5.5 million per km.

The Brasov-Bors section is just one part of the Transylvania Highway, which is designed to be 415 km long. Only 52 km have been built so far, seven years since the project began. Work was halted early this year, because of the lack of funds.

Romanian public road authority CNADNR’s debts to Bechtel amounted to EUR90.4 million in May, plus 90.3 million lei (EUR21.27 million) in VAT payments.

(EUR1=RON4.2445)