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The most expensive road in Bulgaria, through the Kresna gorge, which is part of the Struma highway, but has no highway dimensions, will cost an average of 40 million BGN/km.
About four months before the parliamentary elections, the builders of the two sections of the so-called Eastern Bypass between Kresna and Krupnik, after a nearly two-year procedure in one of the most scandalous tenders with doubts about the previously clear winners.
On Tuesday, the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) announced that the merger DZZD “AM Struma – 3.2.2”. The contract for lot 3.2.2 was awarded, on which the shadow of doubts was cast due to the illegal lifting of the route. The winning consortium includes GBS-Infrastructure Construction AD, EPOS-Empreza Portugeza de Obras Subteraneas AD (Portugal) and Glavbolgarstroy International AD.
Thus, the largest construction company in Bulgaria, GBS, will build a 10.4 km motorway plus a 5.5 km detour from Kresna at a price of BGN 475,199,280.27 excluding VAT. That’s it 36 million BGN /km with VAT.
The contractor for the other section of the so-called Kresna East Bypass was chosen a year ago – DZZD “Batch of APPLICATIONS 3.2.1”. The union, led by Groma Hold, will build 13km at a cost of nearly BGN 500 million excluding VAT. This makes a price of 46 million BGN/km.
The contracts with the two selected contractors have yet to be signed and this is expected to happen before next year’s parliamentary elections.
The European Commission has blocked the construction of the Struma highway through the Kresna gorge. In order to release the money, Brussels has set a condition for the implementation of a series of environmental measures. They are a complement to the environmental documentation in relation to the specific species and protected habitat objectives in the two Natura 2000 protected areas through which the motorway passes, reducing the pressure of traffic on nature and increasing safety on the section E- 79 of the gorge. . The implementation of these measures is delayed. In accordance with RIA’s previously announced intentions, they should have already been fulfilled, but it is not clear from the announcement by the highway agency why it was not.
The most expensive offers turned out to be the best technically
The tenders for the two sections were developed in a similar way, with the elimination of the competition and the victory of the highest priced offers, but with the best technical parameters. In addition, both selected contractors gave prices higher than the estimated values established by the experts of the highway agency.
The difference between the two auctions is that one ended more than a year ago and the other only now, although they started at the same time. The most likely motive is the scandal that broke out with the illegal investigation of the route of lot 3.2.2.
In both tenders, the lowest priced offer was given by associations around Geostroy, but they also received the fewest points for their technical proposals and were eliminated from the competition.
Thus, after a year of procrastination, GBS won the tender for lot 3.2.2 with a price that is with 78 million BGN plus VAT compared to that of the association “Geopath Struma 3.2.2.”, which includes “Geostroy” AD, “Patstroy-92” AD, “Bias-M” EOOD and “Iliya Burda” EOOD. This auction will be remembered for the illegal exploration of the route: forest roads and wells without permission from the RIA. Patproekt 2000 claimed responsibility for explaining more precise plot plans for expropriation proceedings. The case was also referred to the prosecution, but two years later the state prosecutor’s office never made public what the investigation showed.
The offer with which the union led by Groma Hold won the contract for the other section is with more than BGN 96 million with higher VAT that of “Geop Struma 3.2.1”, in which “Geostroy” and “Patstroy 92” participate.
Thus, Bulgarian and European taxpayers will be overloaded with a total of 174 million BGN at the top, generating a lot of comments on social media.
Construction begins after a green light from the EC.
However, the actual activities for the construction of the two sections can only start after the European Commission has given the green light that all is well with the protection of the environment.
Due to the ten-year dispute between the state and non-governmental environmental organizations on this issue, the construction of the section through the Kresna gorge is postponed to the third programming period, for 2021-2027, and in the new program ” Transport connectivity “is in third place. and the “Ruse – Veliko Tarnovo” highway.
The construction of the 28 km through the Kresna gorge will take approximately 4 and a half years (1556 days).
The high price of highway construction is explained by RIA with its many facilities.
According to the conceptual design, the left lane of lot 3.2.2 It is a section with a length of 10.4 km. It also includes the Kresna ring road with a length of 5.5 km. At km 400 of the Kresna ring road there will be a recreation area with electricity, water and sewage. Along the route there will be 4 more tunnels, 10 viaducts with an approximate length of about 3.6 km, 9 crossings with agricultural roads.
The other section – lot 3.2.1, It is 13.2 km long. Access to the route will be through 3 road junctions. There are 3 tunnels, 10 viaducts with a total length of approximately 3.5 km, as well as 3 overpasses and underpasses on the section.
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