Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis assures that the Vilnius-Utena concrete road built several decades ago will be repaired by 2021, if the works are not stopped by the courts or other unforeseen circumstances.
The Prime Minister repeated this promise after meeting with the Utena authorities and businessmen, Prime Minister's advisor Tomas Beržinskas informed BNS.
"The prime minister mentioned that according to the plans of the Road Directorate, if there are no courts or other obstacles, this road will be repaired in 2020," T. Beržinskas told BNS on Friday.
The need to renew the road from Vilnius to Utena started to be discussed five years ago. Initially, the entire road was planned to be reconstructed through a public-private partnership (PPP), but later it was decided to reconstruct it in sections, using funds from the Road Maintenance and Development Program.
The tender for the contractor for the reconstruction of the first road section was announced in April, but due to excessive prices, it was canceled at the beginning of July and a new one was announced. The temporary head of the Roads Directorate Vitalijs Andrejevas told BNS that the envelopes with the participants' proposals should be opened on September 18.
In total, it is planned to reconstruct a 70-kilometer road section, in the first stage - a 5,5-kilometer section.
The road reconstruction PPP project is mentioned in the political corruption case, in which the former leader of the Liberal Movement, Eligijus Masiulis, is accused of taking 106. EUR bribe from Raimonds Kurlianskis, the former vice-president of the MG Baltic concern, for influence, The Seimas considering the decision on the reconstruction of the Vilnius-Utena road, amendments to the Law on Consumer Credits and choosing a place for the monument of Jonas Basanavičius in Vilnius.
Author: Mindaugas Samkus
