Tusk drops Chinese COVEC building the A2 motorway in Poland

Very interesting to see that the Chinese have had their usual tactics used against them in Poland.

Wait ... Here is another little jewel:


Well, if this is true then this sounds like a pure comedy, "gra w chińczyka".
But since this news seems to be a non-confirmed gossip I'll skip the rest of the message and wait for tomorrow's news and details.

Great so Poland will lose 120 milion zl and have to find a whole other contractor. They should just stick to European firms from now on.

No answers yet on A2, the lawyers seem to be working very hard to avoid any mistakes. I understand that.. :-)

In meantime - see the current status of motorways' construction, from money.pl
Legend:
black - existing
green, continuous - under construction
green, dashed - tender and preparation
yellow - endangered
orange - motorway network as promised by PO

Agencies, which were checking the COVEC, did not notice that the Chinese consortium has already failed in one construction in Poland - says RMF FM. Three years ago the company won the tender for the construction of hotel Gromada in Cracow. The pattern was similar to that of the A2 projects. The Chinese did not deliver on time, had too few workers and they changed subcontractors like gloves. The result? To finish the project Gromada had to add extra 20 million zlotys.

"The cost of the construction, if we close it, will be 40 percent higher than that which was negotiated. I would never again fall into a trap of price" - says the Gromada president, Jan Blonski.

The same problems arose during the construction of A2. The government will now have to pay a fortune to finish the road ahead of Euro 2012.

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  Motorways in Poland
  

Chinese built roads.....

I saw the first picture some time ago. It is actually a hole in a bridge. Luckily the driver escaped unharmed - so we may laugh here at their technology.

Bridge or no bridge the road didn't hold the weight of the truck, just like in the second set of photos.


Lodz is in a great position center of the country. It will benefit from a whole network of motorways and in a few years that high speed rail line, maybe even a central airport if they go ahead and build it.

COVEC is out - decided GDDKiA . - We are now analyzing two lawful solutions: either a tender or the negotiations - said the deputy director of GDDKiA, Andrzej Maciejewski.

- There are two sections of the road to be built: A and C, but we still do not know whether they will be handled by one or by two contractors. The next 14 days is a period for the decision to become bounding. The Chinese have been informed about it - said Maciejewski at a press conference.

- We have talked so far with 16 companies, which expressed interest in the contract. There are still others contacting us and we will be analyzing their offers. Public Procurement Law gives us the opportunity to resume the work as soon as in July. The interested companies are examining the construction site, and they will have to determine when they can start and how much do they want - he added.

Maciejewski announced that GDDKiA intends to pursue the compensation of 741 million zł from the Chinese. - This is to be compensation for lost toll revenue collectable from drivers at the tool gates.

- Bank guarantees of 130 million PLN are secure in the COVEC accounts - he added.

Who has made a mistake? Who will not get the money?

When asked about the settlement of amounts owed to subcontractors by COVEC, which approximately amounts to a total of several tens of million zł, he mentioned a number of 20 subcontractors, approved by the GDDKiA, and who - in accordance with his previous promises - will be paid by the investor, GDDKiA.

- But there is a lot more of the subcontractors, which are not approved yet. From what I remember, there are 60 or more such companies in the section C alone - said Maciejewski.

Responding to Chinese allegations that GDDKiA also did not pay on time and that there were unexpected difficulties in the market - he said: "The General Directorate has done everything required for the investment to be carried out in accordance with state of the art. It is up to the contractor to make calculation of the exchange rate risk, or of changes in prices of building materials".

Maciejewski also assured once again that almost certainly the work will be resumed in July, so that the motorway A2 will be drivable by the of May 2012, as planned.

COVEC has met with an unpleasant welcome in Poland.

Chinese papers say that the company COVEC, which was to built two sections of A2 motorway in Poland, was met with an unpleasant welcome in our country. On Saturday, the English-language "China Daily" reprinted excerpts from the Friday's article of Chinese journal "Renmin Ribao", which is considered the mouthpiece of the Chinese government.

"Despite the best efforts of the Chinese, the Polish side almost deliberately interfered in the work, and even attempted to resort to diplomatic means to politicize the issue" - says the author of the article entitled "China's company has met with an unpleasant welcome in Poland."

Due to the fact that the Polish side has significantly raised the construction standards, and because of the rising prices of construction materials and unforeseen geological conditions, the cost of project has risen exorbitantly. The Chinese company would therefore have to add $393.34 million dollars of its own money to the project.

ETC, etc..
China does not like loosing face. Never. Now we are at war with Chinese propaganda.

Oh tough luck. So who are the potential new builders since the Chinese are out?

I don't trust such statements - especially that more companies reflected on the late payments from GDDKiA

If you care to read again the detailed complain note from COVEC, which I translated here, they did not actually said that GDDKiA was ever late. All they said was that GDDKiA delayed until the last moment - according to the contract agreement - of 59 days after receiving their invoice.

they also mention unsufficiently recognized geological conditions which if true can't be a fault of COVEC - and that GDDKiA ignored any complaints from the Chinese about that - I don't think GDDKiA is so very competent - very late payments also tell a thing - it's not that GDDKiA is bursting with cash or perhaps that some machinations were in place to throw the Chinese out of business

Gumishu, something to consider - is it not possible that Poland has pulled a fast one on the Chinese here?

It depends on the exact mathematics of the situation - but if Poland has managed to get some of the A2 built for a ridiculously low price, then it's actually a masterstroke by GDDKiA. It's certain that the Chinese have been victims of some very dirty tricks - but - well - isn't this the rules they play by, too?

That's for:
A1 - 36 km stretch
A4 - 135 km
S19 (near Rzeszów) - 5 km

Troubled A2 construction opened up to other contractors in Poland.

That's good, but the bad news is that half of the promised highways in Poland won't be ready for Euro.

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i think most of us knew that months, if not years ago.

Yes, but I forgot to add that the article I cited provides all progress details: percentage of work done, percentage of days spent, etc. Source: an official GDDiK document sent to ministry of infrastructure.

They should have just let Skanska do the entire road- then we can all be certain that it will be done correctly.

It doesn`t matter that all roads will not be created before Euro 2012. The government is not responsible for all delays .In most cases it is the contractor`s fault and it is them who are unable to meet the deadlines.

The investment process is not just about building roads in the area, it takes years and is long lasting. Responsibility should be put on the previous governments for which the construction of roads in the country iwas not PRIORITY, . Thousands of kilometers of motorways and expressways can not be built in just one year. .

Let be optimistic that, however much at the moment is being built and plans to build more sections are being implemented. I think however that by 2015 all but planned roads will be completed

Tusk couldn't be seen to have a chink in his armour ;) ;) ;) Only those with strong English will get this :)

Tusk backtracking? Not a good sign. Things have to be just right for Euro 2012.

I had to stop and think for a second my first thought was a derogatory term for a Chinese.

It's a play on words. I have a Taiwanese-American friend and she would be ok with me using wink marks :) :)

The Chinese are efficient and would have gotten the job done well. Just don't hire those from Montenegro, they are on a par with old commies for laziness. 'Czy się stoi, czy się leży, dwa tysiące (2000) się należy' :) :) The Chinese don't know this :)