FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy is preparing a second amendment to the concession contract for the construction of the Arbri road, anticipating the spring of 2025 as the new deadline for its completion.
"Procedures have started to postpone the construction works for 20 months only for the Murrizi Tunnel," MIE said in response to a right to information request for BIRN.
The Arbri road that connects Tirana with Dibra was planned to be completed in April 2022, but the ministry initially extended the deadline for the concession company "Gjoka 87" for the completion of the works by 17 months.
After the expiration of the new deadline, the Murrizi tunnel is still far from being completed. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the postponement was calculated by an independent engineer and "will have no financial implications for the Contracting Authority".
The construction of the 54-kilometer road connecting Tirana to Dibra began in 2018, after the company "Gjoka Konstruksion" won the concession with an offer of 33.6 billion lek. Until June of this year, the company received payments worth ALL 13.4 billion.
The project envisages the construction of a two-lane road, which passes through a series of six tunnels and two high bridges. But the main work of the project, the 3.8-kilometer-long Hawthorn Pass tunnel, has been replaced by an 8.8-kilometer narrow mountain road.
The problems encountered with the opening of this tunnel were used as the ministry's justification for extending this contract 2 times with a total of 37 months.
The ministry told BIRN that the concessionaire has implemented the deadlines of the basic and revised schedule of works, but it considers the report of the technical evaluation of the Independent Engineer "confidential", referring to the contract.
For the rest of the road works, MIE claims to have quantified: 91.2% of the physical realization of the works and 83.1% of their financial realization.
The construction of the Arbri road has been used by Prime Minister Edi Rama as an electoral promise for the Dibra area since 2013. He inaugurated the completion of the road with fanfare before the April 2021 elections, promising that together with the Murriz tunnel, the road would be delivered in April 2022. / BIRN
Lini një Përgjigje