Representatives of several oil companies present on the local market, who wished to remain anonymous, declared for Business Standard that they are still considering whether or not to participate in “an auction dedicated from the start to Patriciu.” According to these representatives, Rompetrol, whose General Manager is the renowned businessman and presently the richest Romanian, Dinu Patriciu, has the clear advantage in this auction. “We do not know yet if the Ministry of Transport will have internal selection criteria that will also favor Dinu Patriciu. In any case, the fact that we are requested to have mobile tanks and pumps, which only his company has, put additional cost pressures on us from the start,” said quoted sources.
The documentation for gas station construction and service concession along Soarele Highway, drawn up by the Ministry of Transport Road and Highway Company, stipulates that no more than 10 gas stations should be established on A2, five on each side. Companies will have to use their own investments and set up the gas stations within six months of the date of contract issue of the ordinance, with the concession period a maximum 29 years.
All major gas stations in Romania have indicated their interest in opening gas stations along the highway.