BRATISLAVA, September 3, (WEBNOVINY) – The consortium Slovenske Dialnice, a.s., which should have built five sections of D1 highway between Martin and Presov via the first PPP package, will raise a claim arising from the respective contract after the Transport Ministry has canceled the cooperation with the concessionaire. Director General of the company Doprastav and Chairman of the Directors’ Board at Slovenske Dialnice Dusan Samudovsky provided this information to SITA on Friday, adding that the consortium carried out preliminary works for about EUR 32 million ex-VAT on the highway sections as of late April.
“This is not about the consortium’s willingness or unwillingness,” he said to the question whether the contractor is willing to sell the project documentation to the Transport Ministry or the National Highway Company. The documentation is part of the entire project, he says, which means that after the contract withdrawal and payment for costs related to the D1 project, the documentation will be handed over to the state and relevant authorities respectively.
Samudovsky confirmed that the consortium is ready to hold further talks with the Transport Ministry, which it always perceived as a partner. If the talks planned for the beginning of the next week take place, the consortium will proceed correctly in compliance with the corresponding contracts. The contractor received the decision of Transport Minister Jan Figel which ended the 1st PPP package for D1 at his news conference on Thursday, September 2.
It is not true that the consortium failed to ensure the project’s funding, emphasized Samudovsky. The money has been ensured since May 2010 and the last time the ministry was informed about this fact was on June 18, added the company’s director.
SITA