Vranduk-Ponirak highway section not built after 4.5 years, and when it will be is unknown!?

(Patria) - The situation in Autoceste FBiH is far from stable, and problems are piling up, while time is not on the side of the new management led by HDZ's Denis Lasić!

After a series of work stoppages on the Corridor Vc construction site and the fact that they have no solution for the repair of the Počitelj Bridge, which cracked even before the completion of the Vranduk – Ponirak highway section, it has not been built after 4.5 years, and when it will be, we don't know...

The contract for the construction of the Corridor Vc highway section Poprikuše – Zenica north (Donja Gračanica), subsection Vranduk – Ponirak, was signed on May 15, 2019, with the contractor Consortium Azvirt L.L.C (Azerbaijan) and Hering d.d. Široki Brijeg (BiH) for the amount of 76,592,799.03 Euros, including VAT. Funds for the construction of this section were provided by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

The planned construction period was 24 months, i.e., August 2021!?

The contract was signed under the terms of the Red FIDIC book, which stipulates that the Investor is obliged to prepare and provide all project documentation with a bill of quantities, based on which the Contractor submits their offer.

As defined by FIDIC contracts, works are considered final when the subject construction serves its purpose.

Supervision of the works is carried out by the consortium DRI upravljanje investicij d.o.o. (Slovenia) – DIVEL d.o.o. Sarajevo (BiH).

The main project for the Vranduk-Ponirak highway was completed in 2017, and it was commissioned by the European Commission, which entrusted its implementation to the Consortium Spea (Italy) – Safage (France). Integra from Mostar was engaged as a sub-consultant. After the project completion, JP Autoceste gave its written consent to the project documentation.

Due to deficiencies in the project documentation and the need for additional geological and geotechnical investigations, Autoceste engaged recognized international experts, and through contract amendments, extended the deadline for completion of works until October 9, 2022.
As this deadline was also not met due to the research results, new amendments were made, extending the deadline until November 9, 2023.

By December 2022, about 95% of the funds were spent, and about 3 million Euros remained from the contracted amount. An initiative for an additional loan from OFID, in the amount of 25 million Euros, was launched, which has not yet been concluded.

“According to the financier's rules, if more than a year passes without the contract being signed, the entire process is terminated,” a well-informed source from Autoceste reveals to Patria.

However, what the supervisor's assessment from February 2023 showed is particularly concerning. Namely, the estimates indicate that this section will be short of over 86 million Euros.
In order to ensure the continuity of works on the Contract, Autoceste made a decision in April 2023 to increase the contract price by an additional 10 million Euros, which will be pre-financed from the company's own funds.

“After the secured funds were spent and the deadlines for the construction of this section were missed, Autoceste suspended the works at the end of July this year, in order to, as they state, prevent further large and unnecessary costs due to delays,” adds the Patria source.

As the reason for the suspension, JP Autoceste Federacije BiH d.o.o. Mostar cites difficulties in finding adequate technical solutions for unresolved parts of the route, i.e., the failure to provide the Main Project to the Contractor. They further state that completing the amendments to the Main Project for Sectors 1, 6, and 7 and their revision will take several months.

Works on Sector 2 were supposed to be completed on August 1, 2023. However, in order to avoid a complete standstill in construction and to prevent the Contractor from claiming compensation for indirect costs (equipment and personnel downtime) which are time-dependent, due to delays in providing the project, which is the obligation of JPAC, all works have been suspended until further notice.

As we learn, the project for Sector 6 has been finalized, but Autoceste has not provided it to the Contractor for implementation.

“The supervision on this section, through every monthly report and other documents, informed the Investor about the situation on the construction site regarding omissions in the project documentation, the value of executed works, as well as the Investor's obligations in situations where they change the scope of works.

The construction site is now secured against potential damage to the works and unauthorized access by third parties, and a large number of workers, in an already difficult situation, have lost their jobs,” adds our source.

(A. Čorbo-Zećo)