The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures has confirmed to Hina that the Austrian construction company Strabag has filed a complaint against the selection of the Greek company J&P Avax as the contractor to build southern access roads to the Peljesac Bridge.

The project in question concerns two sections of the Ston bypass road.

Even though officials at the Commission could not confirm it, this complaint, which is one in a number of similar complaints that could slow down the construction of roads leading to the Peljesac Bridge, concerns Strabag’s claim that a reference of one of Avax’s civil engineers stated in the company’s bid, is not in line with tender conditions.

Hina has learned that the engineer in question worked on the Ravca-Ploce section of the A1 motorway and that he was hired as the main engineer by the Kontruktor company.

The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures confirmed that Strabag’s complaint was received on August 7 and that it would be processed within the legal deadline.

The Austrian company previously complained against Avax’s having been chosen to build the Doli-Duboka section and the complaint was accepted, after which it was decided that Strabag would build that section.

Strabag previously also complained against the January 2018 decision to choose China Bridge and Road Corporation to build the Peljesac Bridge.

According to unofficial sources, J&P Avax is very likely to complain to the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures against Strabag’s having been chosen to build the Duboka-Sparagovici section, which will additionally slow down work on the Peljesac Bridge project.

Thanks to exceptional efforts by Chinese workers, the bridge could thus be completed before access roads, whose construction has been slowed down by red tape, bringing into question the tentative deadline of 31 January 2022, when the entire project is expected to be completed.

The agreement for the construction of the Peljesac Bridge with access roads, worth HRK 2.08 billion without VAT, was signed on 23 April 2018 by Hrvatske Ceste and China Road and Bridge Corporation. Eighty-five percent of eligible costs will be covered by the EU.

The construction of the Peljesac Bridge is the first of four phases of a project for road connectivity with southern Dalmatia. The other phases include the construction of access roads, and the construction of the Ston bypass road includes the construction of a bridge.