Poland's complex road dispute

The complex legal case between the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) and Austrian contractor Alpine Bau is continuing in the Polish courts.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The complex legal case between the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (1361 GDDKiA) and Austrian contractor 1332 Alpine Bau is continuing in the Polish courts. The contractor is asking for some €283 million in compensation for the earlier dispute over the project to build a section of the A1 highway in 2009. Alpine Bau had the contract for the work previously but lost the deal when GDDKiA said the firm was behind schedule and was not meeting the terms of the deal. The contractor responded that the delays were not its fault and also said that it refused to build a bridge as requested by GDDKiA as Alpine Bau's engineers did not believe the structure was safe. The Polish courts then opened the way for the legal case and when the tender for the stretch of the A1 highway was relaunched, Alpine Bau again won the bidding process. This latest development hinges to a great deal on the design of the bridge in question. GDDKiA said that the bridge was safe but Alpine Bau refused to construct this part of the contract and following its initial concerns backed up these by sourcing independent reports, which stated that the design did not meet safety criteria. As the legal cases put forward by both Alpine Bau and GDDKiA will rely on expert opinion over specific technical matters, this may well prove a lengthy and complex process in the courts.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge is shaping up for Christmas
    September 10, 2018
    Montreal’s Champlain Bridges - one going up, one coming down, reports David Arminas The importance of the new Champlain Bridge to Montreal and Canada can’t be overstated, given the crumbling nature of the not-so-old original Champlain Bridge. The original steel truss affair across the St Lawrence River and the adjacent St Lawrence Seaway canal is “a lifeline for residents and businesses” in greater Montréal, according to the national Auditor General - the public sector spending watchdog. “It accommodates
    Read More
  • Strabag wins Polish A1 motorway deal for Wozniki-to-Pyrzowice section
    September 2, 2015
    Strabag consortium has signed a contract for construction of a 15.2km section of the A1 motorway between Wozniki and Pyrzowice. Completion of the section that will connect Pyrzowice with Czestochowa is due by the end of 2018. It is the first of four contracts signed for construction of the motorway. Strabag’s offer is believed to be around €144 million, while the budget set by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), was set just over €200 million. Meanwhile, the S6 dual car
    Read More
  • Budimex wins a 20km section of S61 from Wysokie junction to Raczki
    February 16, 2018
    Polish contractor Budimex has won a tender to build a 20km-long section of the S61 dual carriageway in Poland. The section runs from the Wysokie junction to Raczki, the national highways authority GDDKiA announced. Budimex bid just over €484 million for the 29-month design-build contract. Last summer, the Italian contractor Impressa Pizzarotti picked up a deal for 24km of the S61 from Suwalki to the border with Lithuania for around €144.6 million, according to media reports. The S61 is part of the
    Read More
  • Despite earlier contractor issues, road projects in Bosnia are proceeding on track
    May 16, 2012
    Key road construction projects are now moving forward in Bosnia with work on-track for the Sarajevo ringroad as well as the Corridor Vc highway. Construction of a 130km section of the Corridor Vc highway should be complete by 2014 according to Bosnia's Ministry of Transport and Telecoms. Work on the first section of the Sarajevo ringroad should be completed within five months, following the signing of an agreement worth €17 million between the Austrian firm Strabag and the Bosnian company HP Investing. The
    Read More

Highlighted Content