THE METRO 4 CONSTRUCTION COULD BE LEFT WITHOUT AN ENGINEER – BKV, BUDAPEST AND THE GOVERNMENT ARE SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS TOGETH

The contract for the Eurometro Ltd. expires in 2012, but given that the deadline for the contract was mid-2010 at 2006, the financial allocation for the first phase will run out at the end of March. The problem is not to finance the project, but the run out of the contract, so the DBR tried to amend it.

The contract for the Eurometro Ltd. expires in 2012, but given that the deadline for the contract was mid-2010 at 2006, the financial allocation for the first phase will run out at the end of March. The problem is not to finance the project, but the run out of the contract, so the DBR tried to amend it.
The operating - so-called FIDIC - engineer body could be missing from April 2010, after the contract of the Eurometro will expire in 2012, and it is because of the inherent delays of the project. As pointed out earlier by the DBR, the set up of a new contract , which was prepared for over a year, was rejected by the KDB in February and a new, open public procurement procedure was imposed by the client. In an absence of a FIDIC engineer, as the monitoring organization of the contractors , all works should be stopped, because the would be no technical inspector to check the fulfillment of business, the invoices and approve payments, or, even more importantly the checks of the quality of work and its security. The DBR - in order to finish the project – in this case will „ violates the law or breaking the contract”. Since none of them acceptable the DBR led by the BKV, the capital, as well as the government which is participating in the funding will examine the legal and contractual opportunities, however a decision should be reached in March. The change of the contract without negotiated procedure was rejected by the KDB in early February, although the same ground once noted in 2006. The DBR argued, that although it is legally possible, but technically is unrealistic and inconceivable, that a new team of engineers would come and take over thousands of workflow from one day to another and could ensure the continuity of the work. The DBR does not know any large international project, where they changed the on-going operating engineer.

The panel made an open tendering procedure, because it is fully adequate for the EU’s competition concerns. The engineer, however is one of the 11 contracts which is left out from the EU aid schemes, so this contract is not relevant to eligibility, but the lack of required engineering organization, and therefore the suspension of work would jeopardize the full support of HUF 181 billion. The history of the case goes back to one year ago, but have not yet managed to find a solution to the problem, and with a public procurement procedure it is impossible to conduct until April.

The current project preparedness - above 60% - makes the suspension of work to devastating consequences. The engineer is equally important element of the investment, as the client or the contractors. The situation is like a three-legged table with one leg missing. The DBR still insists that the project - and indirectly the taxpayers - interests should be borne in mind. The internationally accepted FIDIC civil engineering and the domestic procurement law does not have sufficient consistency, so the DBR, the BKV experts and the government bodies together continuously examine the legal possibilities, that even in March, an acceptable, legitimate, in favor of the project, and last but not least cost-effective decision will be made.

Budapest, 4th March 2010.

DBR Metro Project Directorate