The State Commission for Technical Inspection of works on the Bar-Boljare Highway found that the contractor, Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), does not comply with the construction procedures.
Documentation obtained by the Investigative Centre of the Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector (MANS) shows that, in its last year’s report, this commission warned of a series of oversights during the construction of the bridges “Tara 1” and “Tara 2”, as well as several facilities on Mateševo loop.
Data from the Commission’s report also show that geological reports were not signed by the supervising engineer, but by a person who did not have this authorization, which is why the Commission members have repeatedly drew attention to the fact that this practice has to change.
“The concrete project and the construction methodology of pillars of the Tara 2 bridge have not been officially adopted – approved by engineers/supervision, although pillars are under construction,” it is stated in one of the Commission’s reports from September 2018.
The project of concrete structure, according to the valid Rulebook of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, contains technical description, calculation of the load capacity and usability of the concrete structure and a program of quality control and assurance. In cases where a construction product is delivered without a declaration of performance and label in accordance with a special regulation, it cannot be installed into the concrete structure.
This was just one of the cases recorded by the Commission during the past year, when in the period from March to November, it adopted a total of 54 reports related to the works on the construction of the sub-section of the highway under technical designation “4.4.1”.
The problem with concrete that is being built was repeated in several Commission reports stating that CRBC did not present the concrete project, that there was no result of ongoing testing of concrete and reinforcement, and that there was no evidence of the origin of materials on the construction site.
Only in some reports the Commission noted that the construction is in accordance with the procedures, and on that part of the route, the contractor is CRBC, while the subcontractor was “Skladgradnja” from Split. It is a section of the highway whose construction has been problematic before due to its impact on the Tara River.
One of the most common remarks by the Commission was that CRBC did not present decisions on selection of the chief engineer, or decisions on the selection of responsible engineers for individual stages of construction.
The State Commission for Technical Inspection has also noted negative results regarding construction works near Tara, thus, it was suggested to the contractor on several occasions that it must re-compact the material within the construction of a ramp on the Mateševo loop because the tests did not meet the required results.
The Commission reports to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs and Monteput – business unit for managing the project for the construction of the Bar – Boljare highway.
No response to a criminal complaint for the destruction of the Tara River to date
In addition to not respecting construction procedures on a part of the route of the highway near Tara, there have been earlier problems with respecting the standards in the field of environmental protection.
As the last year’s MANS survey showed, sample of water near the site was defective 26 times in the last two years. The reason for this was the fact that wastewater from the construction site was discharged directly into Tara, despite the existing wastewater treatment plant that was nearby.
At the same time, CRBC took advantage of the regulation of the Tara River as an excuse to deposit huge amounts of waste from the tunnel to the banks of the river instead of landfills, which was also reported by MANS. Due to the devastation of the Tara River, six NGOs submitted a criminal complaint to the prosecution, but there has been no answer to date.
- All reports of the State Commission for Technical Inspection of Works can be found HERE.
