Greek constructor speeds up work on highway segment in western Romania

Greek construction group AKTOR announced it has significantly accelerated works on the second segment of the Sebes-Turda highway (A10) in western Romania. The group announced that the project was marking considerable progress and also released a video to show the work pace.

The announcement came just a few days after prime minister Ludovic Orban visited the highway site and asked the contractors to speed up the work so that the highway can be opened for traffic in November this year. However, Pro Infrastructura, a local NGO that monitors public infrastructure projects, believes there are slim chances that the project will be completed this year.

The Sebes-Turda highway has a total length of 70 kilometers and connects the cities of Sebes and Turda, also passing through Alba Iulia and Aiud. When completed, it will link the A3 highway, also known as the Transylvania highway or the Bechtel highway (as it was started by American group Bechtel), to the A1 motorway, which currently goes from Sibiu to Romania's western border. It will thus offer a high-speed road connection from Cluj-Napoca, Romania's second-biggest city, to the border with Hungary at Nadlac, as the A3 segment between Cluj-Napoca and Turda is operational.

Work on the Sebes-Turda highway started in December 2014 and should have been completed in 2016. A 29-kilometer segment, the one between Turda and Aiud, was completed and opened for traffic in 2018, two years behind schedule. The remaining two sections, with a total length of 41 kilometers are still under construction.

The first 17-kilometer segment, which starts from Sebes, is more advanced, but its completion is still problematic due to power lines that continue to block the construction of a railway overpass, according to Pro Infrastructura, quoted by Adevarul. The 24-km segment to Aiud, which is being built by Aktor, is currently 67% completed and a more realistic deadline for its completion is mid-2021, according to the NGO.

"The construction of the 24.25 km section extending from Paraul Iovului to Aiud by the Aktor-Euro Construct Joint Venture, now employs over 600 employees, with Aktor planning to increase staff to over 750, for the completion of the project. The company has also increased the specialized construction equipment used in the project," Aktor announced in a press release.

"In light of COVID-19 containment, all works on the project are currently being executed under strict health and safety measures," the company added.