Of the total, EUR140 million represent sums owed since last year and EUR280 million will cover this year’s works.
"We’ve signed the protocol with Bechtel for 2009 and we’ve agreed on payments and terms. We’ll pay EUR140 million for debts left behind by [former transport minister Ludovic] Orban and EUR280 million for works to be performed this year,” Berceanu said.
Until the end of the year, Bechtel has to finish the construction of 42 kilometers of highway and a viaduct.
The construction of Transylvania Higghway, linking the central Romanian city of Brasov to Bors, on the western border with Hungary, started in 2004 based on a EUR2.2 billion contract attributed to Bechtel. Works were halted mid-2005, when authorities started looking into contracts concluded under the previous government. The deadline for the completion of works was extended until 2013 from the initial 2012.