Putin's friends are afraid to build the Kerch Bridge without state participation
Moscow - Simferopol, December 1 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Shtamm) - The Federal State Unitary Enterprise Spetsstroy will likely withdraw from the construction of the bridge across the Kerch Strait, a federal official overseeing highways and a person close to the Ministry of Transport told Vedomosti . The reason: Spetsstroy is unable to handle its main project, the Vostochny Cosmodrome, explains one of Vedomosti's sources. The appointment of either Igor Rotenberg's Mostotrest or Gennady Timchenko's Stroytransgaz as general contractor is currently under discussion, they say. It remains to be determined who will assume responsibility for the general contract, who will act as a subcontractor, and what share of the work each company will agree to. However, Timchenko and Rotenberg are wary of getting involved in Crimea, despite the fact that both oligarchs and their companies are already under sanctions.
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Official representatives of Stroytransgaz and Mostotrest declined to comment. There was no final decision to entrust the project to Spetsstroy, which means it is incorrect to talk about refusal, a person close to Spetsstroy is cautious. It was not possible to obtain official comments from Spetsstroy.
Both Mostotrest and Stroytransgaz initially treated the general contract for the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait very carefully. Mostotrest planned to bid for a subcontract and did not want to face the problems of the general contractors of the latest major construction projects, primarily the Sochi Olympics, analysts wrote in reports of a meeting with the company’s management.
This is an extremely high-risk project, as a person close to Stroytransgaz admitted: financial risks are multiplied by technological and plus image threats.
With the participation of Spetsstroy, neither company would have to take on general contracting risks for such a complex project.
Putin 's Friends Fear Building the Kerch Bridge Without Government Participation