The Kalocsa-Paks Danube Bridge will shorten a seventy-kilometer detour.Continue reading
The tender for the construction of the Danube bridge and the connecting road network in Mohács (southwestern Hungary) closed recently, and several bids were received, thus the evaluation procedure for the selection of the contractor could be completed by next spring, Világgazdaság reports.
János Hargitai, Member of Parliament for the region and Ministerial Commissioner for the Mohács 500 program, said that several bids had been received, which was beneficial for competition, but that he could not say more, given the strict rules governing public procurement procedures. The politician noted that
the evaluation procedure for the selection of the contractor could be concluded in the spring of 2024.
Hence, as soon as the construction of the bridge over the Danube at Kalocsa will be completed, the next crossing on the Danube can be built.
A local newspaper has looked through the call for tenders and found that the decision is normally 60 days from the deadline for submission of tenders, with the possibility of an extension of two months. For a project of this magnitude that is likely to run into hundreds of billions of euros, the latter is almost inevitable, thus it is expected that the decision on which company will carry out the work will be made by March 2024.
The evaluation criteria are wide-ranging, including the suitability of the companies and their staff, their professional experience, their financial and economic compliance, and best value for money.
The investment will be financed from domestic budget resources, so its launch is not dependent on whether Hungary receives money from Brussels,
the paper notes, adding that the tender has been divided into three phases: the construction of the connecting road network on the island and urban sides, and the construction of the bridge itself. The works will start essentially simultaneously on each site, with the contractor having fifty months from the signing of the contract to complete the works.
The Danube. Photo via Facebook/Duna Aszfalt
The current two-lane 57 highway will be converted into a four-lane road from the roundabout in the new town to the M6 motorway, with a two-lane roundabout on the way up and down. From the border of Mohács to the bridge, a 2.7 km two-lane road will also be built from the existing municipal road to the end of the construction phase, after its demolition.
The Mohács Danube bridge is one of the beneficiary projects that was exempted from last year’s investment freeze in June this year. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also referred to the Mohács bridge in his annual assessment speech this year, saying that it is important both economically and in terms of living standards.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image via Facebook/Csaba Hajnal