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The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis (CNSP) in Romania has launched the tender for the Ploieşti-Brașov motorway PPP project. This involves the construction and operation of around 120km of motorway, with a total estimated investment of EUR1.36 billion (US$1.57 billion).

The motorway will form a central part of the planned approximately 600km A3 motorway, which will connect the capital city Bucharest, located in the south-east, to north-west Romania. Two sections of the motorway are currently in service: the 55km Bucharest-Ploieşti section opened in July 2012 and a 60km section linking Câmpia Turzii to Nădășelu was completed last month. 

The Ploieşti-Brașov segment includes 14 viaducts and 33 bridges with a total length of approximately 3km, and a 2.6km tunnel. It also presents complex engineering challenges due to the mountainous terrain and proximity to the Prahova River.

The private partner will also assume responsibility for junctions and access roads, as well as ensuring that existing nearby roads can continue in service during construction. The selected partner will be required to undertake significant earthworks to prepare the project area for construction.

In addition, there are a variety of other responsibilities, such as traffic monitoring, road marking and signaling, emergency call systems, Intelligent Traffic Systems, toll systems, maintenance centres, service and parking areas.

Construction works are expected to take four years, with the government to contribute 25% of the cost. Following completion, the private partner will operate and maintain the motorway and associated infrastructure for 20 years.

Applications must be submitted by 19 November 2018. For more information, see the Business Opportunity. The government intends to sign the PPP agreement with the selected proponent in December.

This is a significant achievement for the Romanian government, as over the past ten years, several attempts have been made to contract a private partner for the Comarnic-Brașov A3 segment - a smaller version of this project. Two tenders eventually resulted in the segment being awarded to a consortium of Vinci, Strabag and Aktor Concessions in December 2013. However, the concession was cancelled in June 2015 as the developers were not able to secure sufficient financing.