Six are the Open Bids for the Construction of a Section of the Mezdra – Botevgrad Road
Six bids were opened of participants in the public procurement procedure for the selection of a contractor for additional design and construction of 13.4 km of road I-1 (E-79) Mezdra – Botevgrad, Lot 2 from km 161+367 to km 174+800.
The construction of the Vidin – Botevgrad road will start from one of the most complicated sections as a crossing area. As a result, the construction of 33 km of the road between Mezdra and Botevgrad is divided in two lots – Lot 1 (19.3 km) and Lot 2 (13.4 km). The objective is to complete the section within a short period of time.
The open bids, following the order of their submission to the registry office of the Road Infrastructure Agency, are of the following companies:
- “GBS - Infrastructure Construction” AD;
- DZZD ACCORD CONSTRUCTIONS, with participants in the company: “ACCORD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT CORPORATION” AD and “ER CONSTRUCTIONS” LTD;
- “GP GROUP” AD;
- “TRACE GROUP HOLD” AD;
- DZZD “MB LOT 2 – 2019”, with participants: “EVROPEISKI PATISHTA” AD, “VODNO STROITELSTVO – BLAGOEVGRAD” AD, “VÁHOSTAV-SK” a.s.;
- Association “GEOPAT LOT 2”, with participants: “Geostroy” AD and “Patstroy-92” AD.
The road between Mezdra and Botevgrad will have two carriageways in each direction, with a gauge of 20 m, twice as wide as the current one, as there is currently one lane in each direction. The alignment will follow the existing road and will extend to the new gauge, and the current terrain will be largely repaired and reconstructed where needed. On a new terrain, the future speedway will develop in the sections bypassing the villages of Lyuti Dol, Tipchenitsa, Novachene and Skravena. Two tunnels with lengths of 490 m and 340 m, respectively, will be constructed at the bypass of the village of Lyuti Dol. A number of facilities will be built and renovated – over the Mezdra – Sofia railroad, bridges over the Iskar River, Malata Reka, Kalnitsa, Bebresh, and Rudarka rivers as well as a road junction near the village of Novachene. The intersections of national and municipal roads will be through roundabouts Mezdra, Darmantsi, Rebarkovo, Lyuti Dol, Skravena, and Botevgrad. It is planned to build agricultural overpasses, recreation areas, etc.
The project implementation period is 1096 days, of which 180 days for planning and design and 916 days for construction.
The total indicative value of the section between Mezdra and Botevgrad (Lot 1 and Lot 2) is nearly BGN 302 million, VAT excluded. For Lot 1, it is BGN 123,000,000, VAT excluded, and it is not utmost. For Lot 2, it is BGN 178,800,000, VAT excluded, again not utmost. The project will be funded by the state budget.
For the first time, a new payment scheme will be implemented with regard to the performance of public contracts, which envisages that the contractor will receive the total amount under the contract only after Act 16 for the site completion has been signed and permission for use of the newly constructed section has been issued. The goal is to ensure that future contractors work as efficiently as possible and complete the project within a short period and with high quality.
The Vidin – Botevgrad direction (167 km) is a priority project under the investment program of the Road Infrastructure Agency and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works because the overall homogenization and modernization of the route from the Danube Bridge 2 will secure a fast and convenient connection between the Hemus, Trakia, and Struma motorways. With the implementation of the project, transit traffic will be removed from populated areas, which will increase traffic safety and reduce the harmful impact of noise and environmental pollution due to the intensive heavy traffic.