The first section of the Craiova-Pitesti expressway will not be ready by the end of December this year as provided in the contract since the contractor - Italian company Tirena Scavi - faces financing issues, Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciuca announced.

On the upside, the works on the second section, contracted by the Romanian company UMB, are advancing, and a 20-km segment serving as a by-pass for Slatina city will be commissioned on July 28.

The other segments of the second section, also contracted to UMB, are scheduled for completion next year.

"There are problems that the contractor must solve as regards the financing. As regards the schedule of the works, we can see that they will not be completed by the end of the year, as specified in the contract," PM Ciuca said during a visit to construction site for the first section.

Transport minister Sorin Grindeanu repeatedly warned the Italian builder Tirrena Scavi of the termination of the contract, which did not happen so far. According to G4media.ro, all three large construction sites of the Italian builder Tirrena Scavi are long behind schedule: the first section of the Craiova – Pitesti expressway, the Cernica Passage on the Bucharest Ring Road and the South Timișoara Ring Road.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Gov.ro)