U.S. Constructor Bechtel Resumes Works On Transylvania Highway

According to Lup, company officials assured unionists that the two thousand employees would resume work by the end of April.

Bechtel previously sent two thousand workers on technical unemployment in December 2008 and January 2009 and, during this period, nearly 200 people executed maintenance works on the highway.

Bechtel communications director Bogdan Sgarcitu said on March 13 that some of the Bechtel employees sent into technical unemployment in December 2008 will resume work in two weeks.

The agreement concluded in February between Bechtel and Romania’s Transport Ministry obliges Bechtel to finish the construction of 42 kilometers of highway on the Campia Turzii-Gilau highway sector provided the Romanian authorities put the necessary lands at disposal and ensure financing.

According to Sgarcitu, the ministry must pay Bechtel EUR1.5 million for overdue debts, EUR26 million plus VAT for certified works and EUR3.2 million in penalties.

Bechtel and ministry officials will meet for talks on the highway construction program during 2010-2012, and subsequently for talks regarding the Campia Turzii – Brasov highway sector.

Romanian transport minister Radu Berceanu said at the end of February that the ministry he runs will pay EUR420 million to Bechtel this year, based on a protocol concluded between the two contract parties.

The construction of Transylvania Highway, 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.