The Bistrița-Năsăud County Council woke up this winter with three groups discovered out of the five in which it divided the county roads. Only Beclean and Bistrița have been covered since February this year. At the auction for the other lots, they did not present themselves eager, so the contracts remained in the air, being concluded on the last hundred meters, even in the first month of winter.
The snow took the county authorities unprepared this year, which failed to conclude snow removal contracts in a timely manner. In fact, the County Council was the first institution fined this winter, even in the first snow, after a county road was not cleared, and a skidding truck blocked the entire circulation.
The Traffic Police fined the County Council with 14,500 lei, because the County Road 172 D was not cleaned.
„On December 13 a.c., the police from the Sângeorz-Băi City Police applied a contravention sanction for non-fulfillment of the obligation to maintain the public road, during the winter, on County Road 172D. The amount of the sanction applied according to GEO 195/2002 is 14,500 lei „, sent to the Bistrița-Năsăud County Police Inspectorate.
No wonder, if we take into account that the snow removal contract for this section of road was not signed on the date when the first snow thought of appearing. It is about the Lot 3 Năsăud, which was signed only on December 13, the irony of fate, one day after the first snow. The procedure would have been delayed because no one showed up at the auctions organized by the county administration.
Three out of five lots did not sign snow removal contracts in December
In the first month of winter, the County Council had failed to conclude contracts for snow removal services for 3 of the 5 lots in which the county roads are divided.
Not only the Lot 3 Năsăud, which includes DJ 172 D, the road that brought to the County Council a fine at the first snow, did not have a snow-capping contract. For Lot 4 Șieu, the snow removal contract was signed only on 9 December, and Lot 5 Lechința is signed only on December 20.
On the Lot 3 Năsăud, for which the County Council was fined, the Roads and Bridges SA Bistrița, a company in insolvency proceedings, whose sole shareholder is the County Council itself.
Only Bistrița and Beclean were insured in December
The only insured lots were Bistrița and Beclean, on which the same SRL seized, in February of this year. It is about ARDELEAN COMPANY NORD VEST SRL. For Lot 1 Bistrița, the LLC received 5 million lei, on October 19 another additional contract was signed, worth 1.5 million lei.
For Lot 2 Beclean, ARDELEAN COMPANY NORD VEST SRL received 5.4 million lei, the contract being also signed in February. To the main contract is added a subsequent contract signed in October, of another 1.5 million lei. The same company caught snow removal contracts this year on sections of road in Botoșani.
ARDELEAN COMPANY NORD VEST SRL is from Baia Mare and reported in 2021 a turnover of 23.6 million lei, a net profit of 1.3 million lei and debts of 14.2 million lei. A year earlier, in 2020, the LLC reported a turnover of 18.8 million lei and a net profit of 1.6 million lei. And then the debts exceeded 10 million lei.
The lot 3 Năsăud belongs to the company Roads and Bridges SA, the value of the contract reaching 5.9 million lei. The contract was signed only on December 14. For last year, LDP reported a turnover of 8.3 million lei and losses of over 4 million lei. Last year, turnover reached 12.3 million lei, and net profit at only 43,700 lei.
The lot 4 Șieu was signed in 9 December, the value of the contract being 6.6 million lei. Trans –Simy SRL seized the contract. Three days later, the County Council concludes an adjacent contract of 2.2 million lei.
Trans – Simy SRL has been operating since 1995 and has 32 employees. For last year, the company from Jelna reported a turnover of 9.6 million lei and a net profit of 262,943 lei. Debts also exceeded 5 million lei. 2020 seems to have been a better year for SRL, which reported 8.4 million lei and a net profit of 1.9 million lei. Debts then reached 3.2 million lei.
In fact, the LLC has only been employed for two years, until then operating with only 8 employees. In 2019, Trans Simy SRL reported a turnover of only 4.7 million lei and a profit of 1.8 million lei.
Snow auction, started in the summer of 2021
Bistrița-Năsăud County Council is looking for companies to ensure the snow removal of county roads for a year and a half. The auction for snow removal services was started in July 2021, for this winter, but also for the winter of 2024-2025. In total, 26 million lei were put to the test.
The contract is divided into five lots, the total length of the county road network being almost 670 kilometers. Compared to the previous multi-annual snow removal contract, the maximum estimated value increased by more than 25 %.
After the first lots, Bistrița and Beclean found a company to ensure snow removal, the County Council was forced to resume the tender for the award of contracts for snow removal of county roads in Năsăud areas, Șieu and Lechința. The estimated total value put at stake by the County Council is at least 9,400,140 lei and a maximum of 19,791,654 lei.
At the new auction, the Bistritean county administration put up much larger amounts than last year in July. However, companies did not crowd with offers. Șieul found a bidder, leaving in the air the areas of Lechința and Năsăud. Năsăud area also has the fewest kilometers of county roads, compared to the other lots: 106,444 km.
It seems that companies would not have crowded into auctions due to the rising prices of the necessary materials, ie salt and sand. The price of fuels is also being taken into account.
„Know that economic operators have entered the auction with quite a bit of reluctance, due to the prices that are still rising. However, we hope to know the winners of the contracts for the 4 and 5 lots in a week. Regarding the 3 Năsăud group, we will organize another auction, and until the award of the contract we will find a legal way for this area to be snow-capped as well. I assure you that we will not have snow-capped roads in the county „, he declared for Gazeta de Bistrița, two months ago, the director of the County Roads Department within the Bistrița-Năsăud County Council, Ciprian Ceclan.
