Polish project causes further legal headaches

The long tale of woe concerning Poland's troubled A2 highway project looks set to continue with the latest developments in the case.
February 28, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The long tale of woe concerning Poland's troubled A2 highway project looks set to continue with the latest developments in the case.

The Chinese contractor China Overseas Engineering Group Co (2487 COVEC) is appealing against a decision made by the Polish national road authority 1361 GDDKiA.
The Polish authorities cancelled the contract that Covec had previously been awarded to build a section of the A2 highway between Warsaw and Lodz.

The highway is an important one as it will link the Polish and German capitals Warsaw and Berlin respectively. Covec's deal was a landmark decision, the first time a Chinese firm had won a major construction contract in Europe. The firm won the tender process for the 50km highway stretch with a low bid that caused some controversy as other bidders complained about being undercut. The problems started soon after Covec commenced work, with materials prices spiralling and causing major problems for the Chinese firms. As delays with the work mounted and complaints from local sub-contractors over non-payment by the main contractor grew, Covec was forced to withdraw from the project in May. Covec has now complained that it has been unfairly treated by the Polish authorities and at present, the case looks likely to end up in the Polish courts.

Covec has requested details of the contract between GDDKiA and Eurovia to be revealed. 3281 Eurovia was awarded the contract by GDDKiA as the company had previously been a bidder in the original tender process and as the Polish authorities want to speed up construction and ensure the road is ready for the upcoming 2012 football fixture. But Covec has also claimed that the Polish authorities have not met with necessary requirements of putting out contracts to tender in its award of the deal to Eurovia. At the same time, some of the sub-contractors and sub-suppliers claiming that Covec failed to pay them sufficiently for their services are planning to take action. Some have said that they will block a number of entrances to the various construction sites. Although Eurovia points out that it is not responsible for any non-payment from Covec, the firms have said that the Polish authorities will have to pay and are blocking the work to force this move. At this stage only the sub-contractors that were listed by Covec as being involved in the project will receive payment from GDDKiA. However it appears that there may be some sub-contractors that have carried out work that have not been listed officially by Covec and it is these firms in particular that are concerned that they will not be paid. The protesting sub-contractors have said they will stage road blocks at the construction site and on connecting roads for as long as necessary, until they receive the payments they say they are due. The project has evidently turned into a legal morass for the Polish authorities, the contractors, sub-contractors and all other parties concerned.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Kenya develops annuity road funding model
    May 8, 2015
    Kenya is introducing novel methods for funding its necessary road infrastructure development - Shem Oirere writes. Kenya has unveiled a new financing model for road construction and reviewed its design standards and construction methodologies, which forms part of a new strategy for the East African country. Under this new plan Kenya is planning to upgrade 10,000km of road, with these links featuring asphalt surfacing; the work being carried out over the next five years at a cost of US$2.8 billion. Despite t
    Read More
  • TensarTech supports Polish contract
    November 12, 2012
    TensarTech soil retaining walls have been used during the construction of a section of the A1 motorway in Poland. Extensive underground mining in the south of the country posed a significant challenge to building the 16km Piekary Slaskie to Pyrzowice (Katowice Airport) stretch of the motorway which, on completion, will run more than 240km from Gdansk in northern Poland to Gorzyczki on the Polish-Czech Republic border. To accommodate potential differences in settlement on embankments approaching a series of
    Read More
  • Success of toll road operators' conference
    July 12, 2012
    The 37th ASECAP Annual Study and Information Days held in Krakow, Poland, gathered some 300 road transport CEOs, experts and government decision-makers making the event "a huge success." Patrick Smith reports Toll road operators from across Europe have met to discuss the state of their businesses in the current economic climate and how to tackle it. Fabrizio Palenzona, the outgoing President of ASECAP (the European professional Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures) and president of AISCAT (
    Read More
  • Using technology so assess road surface quality
    April 4, 2014
    Advances in survey technology and the evolving face of road procurement are driving demand for highway condition data. Mark Thomas, infrastructure services manager at Fugro Aperio writes how surveys of new roads can improve long-term quality While a growing suite of non-intrusive testing, measurement and survey technologies are widely used to target highway repairs and to determine asset management strategies, the use of these powerful tools remains patchy in the early stages of the infrastructure life cycl
    Read More

Highlighted Content