Positive atmosphere at the meetings of the Minister of Transport with the contractor company of the project
By Apostolos Tomaras
In September, it is expected to clarify the landscape regarding the Pafos – Polis Chrysochous road projects, which have been stopped for a long time. From the contacts that have been made, the Greek company INTRAKAT that has undertaken the project appears willing to continue and complete the work. This conclusion is drawn from the meeting held by the Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeadis, with the CEO of the company, Alexandros Exarchou. Meeting during which all the issues that have caused the work to be stopped were discussed. According to information, Mr. Exarchou conveyed to the Minister of Transport the will of the company to comply with its contractual obligations and at the same time to examine the issues raised by INTRAKAT for which there is an appeal to the courts. “The effort is to find a solution and to have a good atmosphere” said sources with knowledge of what was announced at the meeting, meaningfully noting that good intentions on the part of the company are not enough to overcome the obstacles that exist.
The differences
The project company has for some time raised a number of issues which have a financial impact and have caused the work to stop. The company has raised the issue of specifications for earthmoving materials in an effort to reduce the construction costs of the project. In other words, it requests the use of the materials resulting from the earthworks, a matter for which the company has presented evidence to Public Works. During the meeting, the Minister of Transport informed the CEO of the company that he expects the final proposal of the Public Works. There is also the issue of changing the completion schedules of the projects, while from these issues the company seems to demand an amount of €25 million.
The objectives
For the Ministry of Transport, the first objective is to have it clear by the end of the month if there is a prospect of bridging the differences and achieving agreement. The second issue is to have a package solution to all the open issues with the specifications of the earthworks materials first. In such a case, it is estimated that the judicial process will be terminated and in essence the issues that will remain open will be those that have been referred to the Central Committee for Changes and Claims (KEAA) and concern the delivery time of the project as well as the financial requirements of the company.
