Radio Free Europe: Romania’s state of play on highways in the NRRP / Only 10 km completed in one year, 50 km in the works

Romania has so far built only 10.8 of the 429 kilometers of highways it has proposed in the NRRP for the next few years. Another 50 kilometers have recently begun construction, while the rest lie at the mercy of procurement bureaucracy, Radio Free Europe reports, quoted by Rador.

The lack of highways is one of the most painful fears for Romanian drivers, in a country with the highest number of fatal car accidents in Europe and where a road trip from Bucharest to the mountain resorts takes an indecently long time.

The money was there, but the lack of a long-term vision on the part of the politicians who have ruled the country for the last 30 years has meant that today Romania has less than 1,000 kilometers of highway.

In this context, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) could help Romania complete its high-speed road infrastructure map.

Romania proposed 429 kilometers of highways in the plan approved last autumn by the European Commission. The new investments, if realized, should also improve the road network in one of the country’s most historically disadvantaged regions – Moldova.

The 429 kilometers of highway should be constructed by 2026 and would cost €2.7 billion. This represents a third of the total amount Romania has budgeted for infrastructure investment. Most of the allocation should come for upgrading road infrastructure.

An analysis by Free Europe based on data provided by the National Road Infrastructure Management Company (CNAIR) shows that the start of construction of the highways included in the PNNR is slow.

Only 10.84 kilometers of highway have been completed so far, part of the A3 motorway. Construction of a further 50 kilometers has started on the A7 highway, which should link Ploiesti to Pascani.

The rest of the investments are at various bureaucratic stages.

The Romanian government has included the following highway projects in the PNRR

Highway A7 Ploiesti – Pascani (319 km)
From the A8 Highway, ends Târgu Mureș – Miercurea Nirajului and Leghin – Târgu Neamț
From the A3 Transylvania Highway, section Nădășelu-Poarta Sălajului (43 km)
From the A1 highway Lugoj – Deva, missing link Margina-Holdea (13 km)

A7

The most important investment is therefore the A7, which is divided into several sections.

The 63.25-kilometer Ploiești – Buzău section is already under construction after CNAIR signed works contracts in June with Impresa Pizzarotti & C.S.PA. – Pizzaroti SA – Retter Project Management SRL for section 1 and SC Coni SRL – Trace Group Hold for section 2. The execution period is 20 months.

The section from Pietroasele to Buzău municipality is also part of the same section. CNAIR expects a winner to be appointed for this section in September after the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided to re-evaluate the initial bids.
The segment between Buzău and Focșani, which has a total length of 82.44 kilometers, is also part of the A7.
„On 10.05.2022, the submission of tenders for the award procedures for the works execution contracts for the Buzău – Focșani highway took place.

The contracts for the execution of the works, for the four sections, are expected to be signed in August, assuming no disputes,” CNAIR said in a response to Europa Liberă.

The highway is divided into several sections, with several bids submitted for the construction of each section:

Section 1: Buzău – Vadu Pășii (4.6 km) – 8 bids;
Section 2: Vadu Pășii – Râmnicu Sărat (30.8 km) – 7 bids;
Section 3: Râmnicu Sărat – Mândrești Munteni (36,1 km) – 5 offers;
Section 4: Mândrești Munteni – Focșani Nord (10.94 km) – 8 bids;
The Focșani – Bacău segment of the A7 is even further away from the start of works. The 95.9 kilometres of highway between the two cities are divided into three sections, Focșani-Domnești Târg, Domnești Târg-Racăciuni, Racăciuni-Bacău.
„The documentation for the construction of the three lots of the Focșani-Bacău highway (95.9 km) has been sent to ANAP for validation so that the tender for the execution of the works can be launched,” says CNAIR.
The Bacău – Pașcani segment, which should be 77.39 kilometers long, is also far from the start of construction. It was only at the end of July that CNAIR sent for publication the tender notice for the public procurement contracts for this highway.

A8

The two sections of the A8 included in the PNRR are the 22-kilometer Târgu Mureș – Miercurea Nirajului section, for which CNAIR estimates that the feasibility study will be ready in November 2022 and that it will be able to start the tendering process in December.
At the other end of the highway, for the Leghin – Târgu Neamț section, which is almost 30 kilometers long, the situation is similar.
„The documentation for the Multicriteria Route Analysis stage 1 was agreed by JASPERS and CNAIR management in a joint meeting on 29.07.2022. The data and information submitted met the quality requirements necessary to complete this stage and to start the activities for the Multicriteria Route Analysis Stage 2, including the establishment of the final route for the Târgu Neamț – Iași – Ungheni Highway. Following the meeting, which was attended by representatives of the consultant JASPERS and the provider CONSITRANS, it was agreed that CONSITRANS will submit all the necessary documents for approval of the documentation in the CTE of CNAIR in the next period”, the reply reads.

A3

Also known as the Transylvania Highway, it has a 43-kilometer section for which funding would come from the NRRP.
Both the Nădășelu – Mihăilești section (16.8 km) and the section from Mihăilești to Zimbor (13.26 km) are 34.8% completed, says CNAIR.
From Zimbor to Poarta Sălajului, a route of 13.26 km, CNAIR’s Technical and Economic Council has approved the technical project and work began on 25 July 2022.

A1

For the Lugoj – Deva A1 motorway, six economic operators, and several companies from Romania and Turkey, submitted bids for the works at the end of June.
CNAIR is currently evaluating tenders with an estimated deadline for the winner to be designated in September 2022.