Lost highway gets new backer

Dolnoslaskie Surowce Skalne, a company with quarries based in Lower Silesia, has apparently beaten off the competition. According to the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily, DSS has won the rights to lay the 20-kilometre-long ‘C’ section of the road, even though the Polish company has never laid a section of road without working under the direction of another firm.

DSS was the main subcontractor of COVEC, the Chinese company that pulled out of the project in Central Poland. The road was due to be ready for next year’s Euro 2012 football championships.

Two partners are to help DSS with the A2 construction – the Max Boegl concern, which is also charged with completing a stadium in Wroclaw alongside Mostostal Warszawa, as well as Boegl & Krysl.

The Chinese company ran into problems in Poland after proposing to complete the project at a cheaper price than home-grown outfits. As a result, most of the Polish sub-contractors boycotted the enterprise, forcing the company to look for foreign enterprises. COVEC later ran out of money and pulled out entirely.

Now DSS will lay the ‘C’ section of the highway for 650 million zloty (164.3 million euro) as opposed to the 534.5 million zloty (135 million euro) which the Chinese company originally agreed to do the work for.

DSS reportedly saw off competition from Austrian, Swedish and French companies, but concerns remain about its lack of experience as a director of operations. (nh/jb)