Romanian media company Economia reports that potential builders have submitted 235 clarification requests for the Porta Sălajului - Zalău - Nușfalău lot on the Transilvania Highway. In addition, they have requested a 1,5 month deadline for offer submission. In response, the National Company for Road Infrastructure Management (CNAIR) has agreed to a postponement of deadine by 20 days, from April 6 to April 26 (despite only on 7 February 2023 CNAIR had said "06.04.2023 is the deadline for submitting the offers for the design and execution contract of another 41 km from the Transylvania Highway!").

This is the second tender for the same work. First time in 2020.Then the tender value was set at 800 million euro plus VAT. This time in Year-2023 tender value is much much higher at 1,53 billion euro plus VAT (7,5 billion euro).  Construction time more than doubled from 3 years to 6,5 years.

It will be longest tunnel in Romania. 2,8 km-long Meseș tunnel will be twin-tube in each direction two lanes. There is much more than the Meseș tunnel in this tender of course: 41 km highway, many (65) viaducts, bridges etc.

Among the questions one stands out. Economia reports that the interested builders have asked CNAIR to provide the geotechnical studies for the whole 41 kilometers and not only for the 3km long tunnel. CNAIR responded that it is a design and build contract, therefore the geotechnical investigation must be conducted by the builders.

Original reporting by Economie (in Romanian):

https://economedia.ro/autostrada-transilvania-constructorii-au-depus-235-de-clarificari-la-contractul-de-8-miliarde-lei-pentru-lotul-cu-tunelul-meses-cnair-a-prevazut-5-pasaje-de-trecere-pentru-pietoni-si-masini-intre-c.html

If you want to get information on this lot, I add my translation of past CNAIR announcement for the second tender (last year)

CNAIR official announcement (original in Romanian)::::::::

The longest, most difficult and expensive highway lot: The lot with the Meseș Tunnel has an estimated cost of 7.5 billion lei and a term of six and a half years

The Porta Sălajului - Zalău - Nușfalău lot on the Transilvania Highway was put up for auction with a value of 7.5 billion lei, the highway lot with the Meseș tunnel being the longest, heaviest and most expensive highway section of so far. For the 41 kilometers on the Transilvania Highway, CNAIR predicted a duration of design and execution of 78 months, i.e. six and a half years. For comparison, Lot 2 on the A1 Sibiu - Pitesti Highway, the most difficult contract signed has a duration of 68 months, 18 design and 50 execution.

In addition to the nearly 3-kilometer-long tunnel from Meseș, 65 bridges and viaducts are planned on the route, Cristian Pistol, the head of CNAIR, said on Tuesday.

"The deadline has been set for the contract regarding the construction of the subsections Zalău - Nușfalău and Porta Sălajului - Zalău, of the Transilvania Highway, which include the Meseș Tunnel! Offers for the design and execution of the 41 km of highway can be submitted until April 6, 2023. The estimated value of the contract (financed by POT) is 7.48 billion lei (without VAT). The contractor or Association of contractors that will award this contract will design and build 41 km of highway, the Meseș tunnel with a length of 2.8 km and 65 bridges, passages and viaducts. The maximum duration of the periods allocated to the construction is 78 months (18 months design, 60 months execution)", said Cristian Pistol.

The Road Company started 2023 without having builders on three lots of the Transilvania Motorway, between Cluj-Napoca and Oradea, but with the prospect of completing the works on the Chețani - Câmpia Turzii lot (Târgu Mureș - Cluj-Napoca section) at the end of the year in an ultra-optimistic scenario and only with an exceptional mobilization of the Strabag constructor. Between Cluj-Napoca and Oradea, in the summer, the builder Nurol from Turkey is expected to complete the works on the 14 km Nușfalău – Suplacu de Barcău lot (approximately 70% execution), but CNAIR must also ensure its discharges. Next, to the west, for the Suplacu de Barcău – Chiribiș lot, a 26-kilometer section that includes the Bechtel viaduct from Suplacu de Barcău, CNAIR has announced that it is resuming the tender, although the cancellation of the previous procedure is still not fully completed (Selina appeals). And for the last lot without a builder, the Chiribiș - Biharia section of 29 kilometers, CNAIR launched a new tender.