Turkish consortium wins EUR 600 mln railway construction contract in Romania

Romania’s railway infrastructure management company CFR awarded the contract for the upgrade of a 28.6-km railway section between the villages of Apata and Cata in Transylvania to a consortium of Turkish firms formed by Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri and Makiol Inşaat Sanayi Turizm. CFR will pay RON 2.85 billion (EUR 600 mln), with 82% fo the money coming from the European Commission and 18% from the state budget, local News.ro reported. The former of the two Turkish firms has also won a RON 1.58 billion (EUR 360 mln) contract for two segments of Bucharest’s ring-road in May last year, Mediafax informed at that time. The railway modernisation is aimed at increasing the maximum speed to 160 kmph for passenger trains and 120 kmph for cargo trains. This involves the consolidation of the existing railway as well as building new tunnels and bridges. The 28.6-km section is part of the Brasov-Sighisoara route, which is in turn part of the Rhine-Danube transport corridor. The other two sections of Brasov-Sighisoara route were awarded to Strabag-Swietelsky but a local court cancelled the tender result at the request of other bidders, according to Digi24.ro reporting last December. Austria’s Porr is sole bidder for EUR 10 mln railway project in north Bucharest editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Pexels.com)