Under threat of insolvency, without a clearly defined source of financing, with 138 kilometers completed, and 2.3 billion marks spent. These are parts of the audit report on the work of the Public Company Autoceste Federaždenija, which spent more than half a billion marks on four sections from the originally planned contract. While prices are rising and credit funds are being used beyond plan, the question is when Corridor 5c will stop being a scandal.
Due to multiple changes in the contract, the costs for the construction of these four sections have increased by an additional 255 million euros or 19.5 million marks per kilometer built.
“Because of the above, we have not gained reasonable assurance that the responsible persons, management bodies, each within their jurisdiction, have taken appropriate actions to protect the Company from negative economic consequences, which have arisen due to failure to act on concluded contracts and the creation of additional costs due to project changes,” the audit report states, among other things.
All sections that were supposed to be completed, but never were. The pace is seven years – less than five kilometers. The Poprikuša – Nemila section, the contract was signed five years ago, the construction deadline was last year. Nemila – Vranduk, the completion deadline was exceeded by more than a year. The Vranduk – Ponirak section should have been completed four years ago. It is the subject of investigation, i.e. judicial authorities, where the former management is accused of tender fraud and inflating the price of this section, which is as much as 154 million marks higher than the originally contracted one.
“There was an explosion of costs here. In order for this to happen, almost everyone must participate – from the contractors to the motorway managers themselves. At the time, Elmedin Voloder was at the helm of the motorway and an investigation is underway against him,” says journalist Amil Dučić.
The contract was signed six years ago, the construction deadline expired four years ago, and half of the work done, a total of five kilometers, has spent all 76.5 million euros, which was the money for the entire section.
Kvanj – Buna Tunnel. Since 2018, there has been a tug-of-war over who will get the job. Because of this, and three administrations later, two annulled procedures, one also due to an investigation, the deadline for completion was missed, and the construction price increased by as much as 110 million marks.
“Even the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF got involved. According to OLAF, the director then directly interfered in the work of the commission and selected the contractor,” Dučić points out.
The current management of Autocesta FBiH rejects the auditors’ allegations of unscrupulous business practices and the use of public funds, claiming that they are unfounded, and their work is in the function of protecting the company from damage.
“It is true that the construction deadlines on the sections were extended, as well as an increase in the contracted value, but for objective and justified reasons, which are not stated in the report, and these are changes in conditions on the ground, unresolved property and legal affairs, inflation, the price of materials, as well as insufficiently defined elements of the project documentation,” Autocesta FBiH states.
“The fact is that they did inherit huge problems and machinations from the previous administration. Among other things, I reported that on the Poprikuše – Nemila section, in the selection of supervision, and that is a section that has yet to start construction, there was a substitution of bids. They canceled that tender three times. So, we also have current corruption on the scene, not just corruption from some previous time,” says Dučić.
While construction prices are rising, the problem is also paying multi-million-dollar penalties for taken but unused money from foreign creditors. This is also the practice of the current Administration, which has requests for new debt of more than a billion marks, where, as the auditors warn, the money will once again be taken, and the section will not be ready for construction – which are the penalties that are being announced.
“The EIB and EBD are quite concerned about the implementation of funds, which is why they have launched internal investigations. They have partly confirmed this to me. And according to my information, an investigation is also underway in the EU into the spending of EU funds on certain sections,” says Dučić.
This is the framework in which the construction of Corridor 5c is taking place, where for more than two billion marks spent and twenty years of construction we have obtained 138 kilometers of Corridor. Scandals, investigations, missed deadlines, fabricated prices and sections like road monuments that lead nowhere, Federalna writes.
