Chinese company gained disputed bridge contract in Nord-Trøndelag
The Chinese company Sichuan Road & Bridge Group (SRBG) will build the new bridge over the Beitstad sound between Steinkjer and Verran.
– We have today been informed by a letter from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration that they grant Sichuan Road & Bridge Group, SRBG, the contract to build Beitstadsundbrua in Nord-Trøndelag, says Alexandros Tsetsis, contract manager and press spokesman for SRBG in Norway in a press release.
The planned bridge is 580 meters long, and the Chinese have offered to build the project for NOK 277 million.
– We are very happy and will now await the appeals deadline, which ends at November 16, says Tsetsis.
He says the company is a world leader in bridge construction.
– SRBG has set itself the goal of becoming a leading player in bridge construction in Norway and is already well-building the 1,533 meter long Hålogalandsbrua in Nordland on behalf of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, says Lu Wei, project director of the company in Norway.
The county council in Nord-Trøndelag originally wanted to ban the Chinese company from the tender competition. The county council, however, referred the case to the newly formed Trøndelag, where the case was discussed in the county committee on Tuesday. The end of the visa was that the county councils in Trøndelag reversed the county council in Nord-Trøndelag. SV was the only party that voted against the councilor’s recommendation to let the Chinese company submit a tender.
SRBG delivered the lowest bid to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration with an offer price of almost NOK 277 million. It is NOK 41 million lower than the offer from PNC Norge AS and NOK 61 million lower than the offer from Skanska Norway, according to SRBG.
Project Manager in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Jo Bernt Brønstad, says that the contract is not signed before the deadline expires on 16 November.
– Signing of the tender will not happen until after the deadline has expired and we have revieved any complaints, according to Brønstad.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
