Romanian PM Says Works On Transylvania Hwy Depend On Price Negotiations With U.S. Bechtel

Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said U.S. Bechtel and the Transport Ministry must reach an agreement on how much a kilometer of highway will cost, according to government-set costs standards, before works on the Transylvania Highway can continue.

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"Bechtel needs to agree with the Transport Ministry and (the public roads authority) CNADNR on the price for works on the Transylvania Highway to continue. This highway is a major goal for the Government and the ruling coalition, but we need to observe the law," said Boc.

Boc accused previous governments of not having been interested in setting cost standards for public works, saying it was easier for them to steal public money this way.

"Previous governments were not willing to impose cost standards per kilometer of highway, or county road, or communal road because they could steal easier. Now, this Government says how much a kilometer of highway or road should cost. Had these standards existed when (former prime minister) Nastase and (former transport minister) Mitrea signed the contract with Bechtel, I'm sure we eould have had a different rpice and a different value today," Boc said, adding things need to return to normal.

The Prime Minister said he cannot estimate when works on the highway would start again.

The construction of the Transylvania Highway, which links central Brasov to western Bors on the Hungarian border, began in 2004 with a EUR2.2 billion contract awarded to U.S. constructor Bechtel.

Work was halted in mid-2005, when Romanian authorities started looking into contracts signed by the previous administration. The project's deadline was extended to the end of 2013 from 2012.

Works on the highway were also halted early 2011 when Bechtel started procedures to lay off its 700 employees working on the site because the Government hadn't paid for the works.

The highway is designed to be 415 kilometers long, but only 10% has been built so far.

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