Motorway Company terminates the feasibility study contract for Pitesti-Sibiu highway, wants to complete it with its own engineers

The representatives of the Motorway Company (CNAIR, subordinated to the Ministry of Transport) have confirmed for hotnews.ro that the contract with the association between Spea (Italy) and Tecninc Consulting (Romania) for the feasibility study of the Pitesti-Sibiu motorway is terminated. CNAIR chief Stefan Ionita announced that the study will be made by CNAIR engineers, and in October the auction for design and construction will be launched, hotnews.ro informs.

The reason for canceling the contract? The association Spea (Italy) – Tecninc Consulting (Romania) has so far provided the feasibility study only for  two sections of the highway’s five, the simplest ones: section 1 and 5. The Romanian-Italian association exceeded the deadline in the contract, i.e. the study for sections 2, 3 and 4, the most difficult part, which involves the strapping of the mountain.

“We will conduct the feasibility study for sections 2, 3 and 4 based on the older study carried out by IPTANA (the former Institute for Car, Naval and Air Transport Designs) and on the contribution of the Institute of Geology. We will launch the design and execution bid for these sections in October,” Stefan Ionita, CNAIR General Manager has told hotnews.ro.

The Motorway Company has already launched the auctions for the design and execution of sections 1 and 5 of the Pitesti-Sibiu highway.

The contract for the feasibility study for the Sibiu-Pitesti highway was launched in 2014 by Minister Dan Sova, with an unrealistic deadline of 4 months for the end sections. The contract was awarded a year later in the mandate of minister Ioan Rus and signed during Iulian Matache’s mandate. Throughout the period when the contract was auctioned again and then implemented until the end of 2015, the CNADNR chief was Narcis Neaga. In 2016, the transport ministers in the Dacian Ciolos government refused to renew this contract, despite warnings from civil society that it has major problems.