PRIME MINISTER EMIL BOC: The first 42 km of the Transylvania Highway will be ready on December 1st

Prime-Minister Emil Boc and the Minister of Transports, Radu Berceanu, arrived on Friday at the site of the Transylvania Highway, which is being built by American company Bechtel, in order to assess the progress of the works. The visit of the two officials began at the node of Gilău, at the 50km point of the highway. According to Agerpres, this is the first time in the last three months that Prime Minister Emil Boc visited the Cluj sector of the highway.

Emil Boc said: "We have been assured that on Romania"s National Day, the 42 km of highway between Turda and Gilău will be completed. We came to make sure that this promise will be kept. The utilities were transferred, there are no more issues on this matter. The viaducts are completed".

• Berceanu promises that bills for the Transilvania Highway will be paid on time

Radu Berceanu said that the Ministry of Transports will pay all certified works on the highway delivered by Bechtel. "Last year when the economy was booming, payments were slow. Now we have paid all our debts. I will pay all the works that are certified", the Minister of Transports said, as quoted by NewsIn. Prime Minister Boc added that Berceanu is making "amazing efforts" in order to secure funding. The largest portion on the Transylvania Highway, according to estimates made by Minister Radu Berceanu, is the 189 km segment between Câmpia Turzii and Borş, which will cost an estimated 2.5 billion Euros.

• 119 million Euros out of the 2009 state budget for the highway

In mid May, the prime-minister announced that the government has allocated 19 million Euros for the Transilvania Highway, with most of it to be used for paying the debts towards Bechtel, but also for new investments.

The Transylvania highway (Braşov-Borş) will be 415 km long, of which over 55 km of bridges and viaducts, 94 footbridges, 58 highway passages, and 16 highway nodes.

According to Agerpres, Bechtel is currently working on two segments of the highway, namely Câmpia Turzii - Gilău (52 km) and Suplacu de Barcău - Borş (64 km). Works are scheduled to begin in 2009 on two additional segments, (Cluj - Mihăileşti and Mihăileşti - Suplacu de Barcău). The project involves over 4,000 workers, 1,700 employed by Bechtel, and 700 employed by subcontractors, approximately 1,000 drivers, as well as other types of workers.