Romania’s rising highway costs are analyzed against Bulgarian projects, citing material inflation and project complexity as key factors.
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Romanian roads are among the most expensive in the Balkans, according to Bulgarian officials who cite these high costs when justifying their own highway bids. The article examines why construction costs per kilometer have risen so significantly in Romania, noting that recent tenders for plains and expressways show prices comparable to those of mountain highways contracted years ago. Initially, Romania set cost standards based on terrain (plains, hills, mountains), but real-world costs consistently exceeded these guidelines, with recent contracts showing massive increases—for instance, mountain highway segments costing nearly 28 million euros per kilometer in 2022 and projected to reach 31 million euros by 2025. New tenders are even higher; for example, the A9 Timișoara – Moravița is estimated at almost 27 million euros per kilometer.
The National Road Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR) attributes these price hikes primarily to increased costs of essential construction materials like steel and cement, global inflation, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical tensions, noting that contracts include price adjustment formulas. However, an expert from Pro Infrastructura argues that while material costs have risen due to objective factors like inflation and the war in Ukraine, comparing new bids to older contracts is flawed because current estimates incorporate higher implementation reserves (up to 25%) and provisions for similar works not present in earlier agreements. Furthermore, Romanian regulations mandate stricter standards—such as extensive sound barriers and specific tunnel designs—which increase initial project complexity and cost compared to other EU nations.
The discussion on rising costs has also reached Bulgaria, where the recent record-breaking bids for the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway have drawn accusations of corruption from the opposition, though the government cites inflation and difficult terrain as justifications. Bulgarian officials have pointed to Romania’s high road costs when discussing their own projects, with one official suggesting future infrastructure in southern Bulgaria could cost even more than current Romanian mountain contracts.
