20. 08. 2007

HIGHWAY DEAL MADE PUBLIC, ANNEXES WITHHELD

BELGRADE, 20 August 2007 (B92/Beta) - Journalists have been granted access to the Horgoš-Požega highway deal, as promised by the infrastructure minister.

The contract has thus been made available to the public Monday for the first time since it was signed five months ago.

However, reporters, who were not allowed to take any pictures of the document, did not gain access to the annexes.

Milan Obradović, editor of the business section of B92 web portal, the first journalist to take a look at the contract, says that only the basic version of the document spanning 50 pages has been put on display.

Infrastructure Minister Spokeswoman Aleksandra Janković stated there was no reason why journalists should also have access to the annexes, since, in her words, answers to all previously posed questions can be found in the contract.

Nonetheless, according to Obradović, journalists cannot get answers to those most intriguing questions form the contract alone.

“One provision of the contracts says the state is obliged not to construct competitive roads in the area. I am not quite sure what this means,” he said.

“It is very likely that what the public finds most puzzling about the deal is given in the annexes that the journalists have had no access to,” Obradović stressed, adding that some claim the annexes amount almost 1,000 pages.

“As I could see in the text, the contract envisions that even though the highway should be completed by 2012, the deadline can be extended.”

The concession deal is set to last 25 years, while the contract allows for the extension of that deadline as well.

According to Obradović, the concessionaire is obliged to make a one-off payment of EUR 10mn after it submits confirmation of having secured funds needed for the highway construction.

“From that point on, the concessionaire can begin collecting road tolls, the cost of which is probably given in the annexes.”

The contract says the deadline for submission of the funds guarantees is March 2008, one year following the signing of the contract.

“Upon starting construction, the concessionaire should make monthly payments to the government in the amount which is not revealed in the basic contract,” Obradović explained.

He added that the contract was vague on the manner in which toll rates and penalties will be set, in case the concessionaire failed to fulfill the responsibilities it undertook.

“The contract has no provisions regulating its secrecy, but stating only the confidentiality of the technical records regarding the construction of the highway.”

Đelić: Contract has limited confidentiality

Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Đelić said he was glad that the contract the government signed on March 30 with the FCC-Alpina Consortium would finally be made available to Serbian citizens.

“It is good that Infrastructure Minister Velimir Ilić now agrees with those government members in favor of publishing the entire contract,” he said.

Đelić added that the cabinet had to respect certain standards of international business.

“It means that some parts of the contract may remain confidential for a limited period of time since the same company is bidding in other tenders as well, and therefore objects to publishing all the details at once,” he said.

“However, to my great disappointment, the Consortium replied it did not want any part of the contract to be published, which I did not understand,” Đelić remarked.

Ilić said on Friday that he would ask the government at its next session on August 23 to publish the Horgoš-Požega highway deal in its entirety.