“The story of deliberate failure: a year and a half Grindyanu ignores the highway A8 Unirii Tg. Mures – Iasi – Ungheni. No work is being done on any of the 300 kilometers of the highway,” writes former transport minister Horaciu Cosma, who reviews all the delays in the entire project to connect Moldova with Transylvania.

“Uniriy” highway A8Photo: Hotnews

“In 2021, together with Katelin Drulo at the Ministry of Transport, we managed with great efforts to get the first European money for the roads of Moldova, more than 2 billion euros for the A7 and A8, more than the classic European funds for all roads related to the period 2021- 2030. We took a turnkey project for the Tg area. Neamts – Iasi – Ungen, and we have accelerated the bureaucracy for the PNRR-funded sectors so that they can be built much faster, within the deadlines set by the PNRR,” writes Horatio Cosmas, former USR State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport in the Kitsu government.

“A year and a half has passed since then, and the advance is shameful,” says Kosma.

“With every new day of delay, the chances of missing the first milestone of PNRR on highways are increasing”

“The PNRR sections have suspended auctions, the difficult sector that crosses the mountains does not have an environmental agreement and a completed feasibility study, the Moldovan section has a long delay with the contract, and the bridge across the Prut from Ungeny is not even put up for auction. today,” accuses Cosma, who is reviewing the accumulated delays in the project.

  • “2 sectors financed from PNRR Tg. Mures – Mercury Nirajului and Legin – Tg. Neamka had a 90% design contract ready when USR was forced out of government, with a firm timetable for tenders for the works in early 2023. Tenders were launched a year late, but Grindeanu stumbled again. Since February, these tenders have been suspended as CNAIR was unable to respond to the uncertainty of the builders. With each new day of delay, the chances of missing the first milestone of the PNRR on highways, i.e. the signing of the contract by the end of the year, increase, and new delays automatically arise with the involvement of European money.
  • In the difficult mountain area between Mercuria Nirajului and Legin, for one and a half years, Sorin Grindeanu could not get the environmental agreement, complete the feasibility study and start the tender for the work on the design contract signed only in 2019!
  • Then the section Tg. Niemets – Iasi – Ungen is on schedule, the contract starts from April 2021, the deadline for the feasibility study is 12 months, 5 months for the construction permit and another 5 for the technical design. They barely had time to approve the route after 18 months of “superhuman torment”.
  • And in the case of the Republic of Moldova, the 260-meter bridge over the Prut, it took Grindian more than a year to get an environmental agreement. And as for the next step, launching a tender for the execution of works, next year and Happy New Year,” Kosma accuses.

Race against time to get the ends of the A8 Tirgu Mures – Tirgu Neamt ready by the deadline for the PNRR projects

The A8 “Unirii” motorway is almost 320 km from Tirgu Mures (junction with A3) to Iasi and Ungeni, on the border with the Republic of Moldova. The sections from Tirgu Mures to Merkur Nirajului (approx. 25 km) and from Legin to Tirgu Neamts and to Moca/DN2 (approx. 30 km) are financed by the PNRR, a short-term plan developed by the EU for post-pandemic restart. Prerequisite: Projects to be concluded by the end of 2023 and completed by 2026.

In the current conditions, with the tender not yet fully launched, with a lead time of 30 months (6 months of design + 24 months of execution), the chances that the two sections will be fully ready by the deadline are slim and highly dependent on the development of contracts and the rapid solving possible problems and blockages on this path.

For the rest of the section – the mountain sectors from Mierkur Nirajului to Legin – the feasibility study has also not been completed. For the Moțca/DN2 – Iasi – Ungen section, field studies were only recently carried out after the project was blocked for more than a year at the route selection stage…

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