Strabag has recently won a major tender worth EUR 700 million for the modernisation of two railway sections on the pan-European Corridor IV, but the commitment of the same company is questioned since failing to submit letters of good performance guarantee in time.
Romanian Minister of Transport Lucian Șova expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that the progress of infrastructure works carried out by big foreign companies was “poor” and that he did not even see an excavator “with the brand of the multinational corporation”.
The Romanian Minister of Transport said that a famous Austrian company did not submit a letter of good performance guarantee in 2010 for the modernisation of a 188-km road.
“There is this long-tendered road, Scoarța – Pitești, for the modernisation of 188 km of roads, for which this famous European entrepreneur from Austria does not submit the letter of good performance guarantee in order to sign the contract although the contract is submitted since 2010 and that road is prisoner of the situation. Since it’s under rehabilitation, it cannot undergo maintenance works. Nothing can be done, the contract has not been terminated, now I want to terminate the contract myself (…) Regarding the Romanian entrepreneurs, the one or two left, they don’t have this problem, they submit their letters of good performance guarantee”, said Lucian Șova.
The project referred to by the Romanian Ministry of Transport was assigned in 2010 to a consortium led by Austrian company Strabag and two other Romanian companies, SC Delta ACM 93 & SC C&I Euroconstruct. The contract was signed for RON 371.64 million.
We recall that at the beginning of July, CFR SA appointed BRASIG Consortium, of Strabag -Swietelsky, the winner of the public tender procedure for the modernisation of Braşov – Apaţa and Caţa – Sighişoara subsections, located on Braşov – Sighişoara section, a component of Rhine-Danube Corridor, for the traffic of passenger trains at a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The financial offer of BRASIG Strabag – Swietelsky Consortium was estimated at RON 3.14 billion, VAT excluded (EUR 675 million), while the public procurement contract is expected to be concluded and signed by both parties at the end of the legal appeal period.
It seems that problems related to the company’s implication in transport infrastructure projects occurred not just in Romania, but also in Austria. This spring, the international media said that Strabag would have confirmed that they were under an anti-corruption investigation. This investigation is led by Austrian Public Prosecutor’s Office for Combatting Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) and refers to the road infrastructure projects in Austrian provinces Carinthia and Styria, as well as those for the rehabilitation of highways in 2008 – 2014.
In Serbia, Strabag was suspected of lobby abuse after contracting an agency to win various railway infrastructure modernisation tenders. It seems that the Austrian corporation used a consultancy contract signed with a company that was not known for market research, lobbying or other advertising activities. This agency would have benefitted from a 3% commission for each project won by Strabag in Serbia.
Photo: www.eurorailhobbies.com
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