The Chinese consortium Shandong, which won the job of reconstruction of the Tivat-Jaz road with the construction of a part of the water supply system, was not granted the request for the payment of an additional two million euros, which turned out to be due to the difference in the price for the supply of water pipes.
"Vijesta" was told unofficially by the Government.
The contract on the reconstruction of the Tivat-Jaz road, which also includes the installation of water supply pipelines in Lastva Grbaljska, was concluded in March last year with the chosen bidder, China's Shandong. The agreed price is EUR 54 million (without VAT), and the deadline for the completion of the works is 2026. The investors are the Traffic Administration and the Regional Waterworks of the Montenegrin Littoral. The project is partly financed by a 14 million euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The contract for professional supervision of the works was concluded with the consortium of Italian companies IRD Engineering Srl & PPG doo
"Vijesti" asked the Traffic Administration whether the Chinese were granted compensation claims and extension of deadlines due to the difference in prices for the purchase of pipes, as well as due to the storm a few months ago in Tivat.
The Management said that they cannot answer the questions, because the contract is implemented in accordance with FIDIC conditions, which "provide for the confidentiality of data on the details of the Contract, including data on compensation claims".
The NGO Action for Social Justice (ASP) recently announced that the Chinese side is asking for an additional two million euros due to the price difference for the procurement of water pipes from Turkey, instead of from China, because the contract calls for pipes produced by Turkey. The Chinese also asked for a 45-day extension of the deadline for the works.
In the documentation that "Vijesti" has access to, and which ASP obtained based on a request for free access to information, it is stated that the supervision replied to the Chinese company that the supervision's job is to ensure quality and contractual deadlines.
"Comparison of the prices of your two suppliers, transport costs from China or Turkey, method of payment, etc., we have never and will never comment," the watchdog said.
In response to the Chinese contractor's announcement that it will demand additional payment for the pipes, it also says that it disagrees with Shandong's claim that it was forced to work with a Turkish supplier.
"He (supplier) was named in the contract by you, not by the supervisor," the answer reads.
The supervision stated that because of this, the announcement of the compensation request was unacceptable to them, but also that they could not agree with any extension of the terms of the contracted works.
"The slowness of your internal procedures is the main reason for the delay in the procurement of the necessary pipes and fittings," says the watchdog.
The Chinese also complained about the time
According to ASP data, the Chinese side also announced a request for additional payment and extension of the deadline due to the storm a few months ago in Tivat, with the explanation that due to heavy rainfall and extremely unfavorable climatic conditions, some pipes were completely destroyed.
The source of "Vijesti" from the executive branch said that the Chinese complained about the storm and that they were not prepared for it, but claimed that their pipes were not damaged.
He also states that the works are carried out in phases, so that the delay of one phase does not mean the delay of the entire project.
Construction works on the road began in January this year, although the contract was signed at the end of March 2023.
According to the data obtained by the ASP, the Chinese side demanded EUR 499.104 from the Administration due to the delay in starting the works and taking possession of the plot before the investor issued the building permit.
The section of the Jadranska magistrala between Tivat and Budva is the most frequent and congested road in Montenegro, where more than 30.000 vehicles pass daily during the high season, so traffic jams and kilometers of queues are constantly created on it. The government has decided to turn the Jadranska magistrala between Tivat and Jaz into a four-lane boulevard, hoping to eliminate the summer traffic collapse on this part of the coast.
The Traffic Administration announced at the beginning of November that the Tivat-Jaz boulevard is being built according to the planned dynamics, and the works are in different stages depending on the section.
As they said, finishing works have started on some sections, while others are waiting for the start.
"Currently, the main focus is on the completion of the first section, on which works are in the final phase, including asphalting works, and soon the removal of the existing asphalt on the second section will begin," the Administration stated.
Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević last month during a tour works on the Jaz-Tivat boulevard, pointed out that she expects the renowned contractor to complete all the works within the agreed time and in a high-quality manner.
The road will have 10 bridges and 11 new roundabouts
The length of the section of road that is being reconstructed is 16 kilometers, and the route of the future boulevard passes through the territory of three municipalities - Tivat, Kotor and Budva. The reconstruction of that section implies the construction of a modern boulevard-type road, which will have two traffic lanes in the direction of movement (total: 4 x 3,25 m), sidewalks on both sides (total: 2 x 2 m) and a dividing strip (2 m), and along with it, a new pipeline of the Regional Water Supply will be built in order to improve the water supply in those three municipalities.
The reconstruction of the road includes the reconstruction of five smaller, existing bridges and the construction of five parallel bridges, as well as the construction of 11 new roundabouts.
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