The Romanian state road construction and management company CNAIR signed the contracts for the last two of the four segments of the Craiova - Pitesti expressway with a group of local construction companies controlled by local businessman Dorinel Umbrarescu, Economica.net reported.

The construction should be ready within 36 months. The expressway is expected to link Ford's factory in Craiova to the A1 highway that will stretch (once completed) from the Black Sea port of Constanta to Romania's western border.

The consortium made of SA&PE Construct - Spedition UMB - Tehnostrade also won the contract for another segment. Therefore, it will build the second, third, and fourth segments of the expressway.

The new segments awarded to Umbrarescu's companies have nearly 32km each and will cost RON 1 billion and RON 910 million respectively, without VAT - EUR 390 mln in total. The same consortium of companies is building another segment of the expressway, 40 km long, for roughly EUR 300 mln. For the 104 km constructed, the consortium will thus get some EUR 690 mln, without VAT.

Tirrena Scavi of Italy is already working on the first of the four segments, 17.7 km long, under a contract worth EUR 78 mln, without VAT.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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