Romania To Pay EUR48M Debt To U.S. Constructor Bechtel In July

"These are current expenses that must be brought up to date and we’ll bring them back on schedule in July. It’s a EUR48 million debt,” Boc said.

The prime minister assured Michael Mix, manager with Bechtel, which is building the highway, that the company need not worry about the government paying that debt.

Works on the Campia Turzii – Gilau hihway segment, which the prime minister inspected on Sunday, are 75% completed and should be done by the end of the year.

The construction of the highway, linking the central Romanian city of Brasov to Bors on the western border with Hungary, started in 2004 based on a EUR2.2 billion contract awarded to Bechtel. Works were halted mid-2005, when authorities started looking into contracts awarded during the previous administration, which caused a one-year setback in construction works.

Under an agreement concluded in February by Bechtel and the Romanian Transports Ministry, the U.S. constructor is set to complete 42 kilometers of the highway this year and the Transports Ministry will  pay EUR420 million.

The entire highway is due for completion in 2013.

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