2023-09-08 05:49:00
This Thursday, the Walloon government validated an item put on the agenda by the Minister of Mobility, Philippe Henry. It related to a draft amendment to the Public Private Partnership (PPP) and draft transaction agreement. In this context, the government has decided to “grant funding to the Transport Operator of Wallonia with a view to paying certain additional costs generated by exceptional circumstances within the framework of the Liège tram project”.
But don’t panic, it is not a question of giving additional money to Tram’Ardent (the consortium in charge of the construction and maintenance of the Liège tram), but rather of consolidating the “agreements” obtained in the context of the mediation that took place last June. There, as a reminder, the Walloon Government had released 79 million euros to enable the completion of the Liège project. In return, the builder undertook not to excessively increase the (new) delays… A delay which does not suit anyone since as long as the work is not completed and received, the service provider is not paid.
January 31, 2025
“These negotiations and the payment of these 79 million were focused on respecting a timetable made up of three milestones,” Philippe Henry’s office is reminded. “And it is clear that for the moment, the new deadlines have been respected.” This explains a tranche being discussed this Thursday by the Walloon Government.
Thus, it is still planned (and hoped) that the most impactful works for mobility will end at the end of November (except apparently in Féronstrée). “It must be said that a large part of the delays are due to Covid, floods, but also to the difficulties of the applicants’ work. The Liège soil is full of sometimes unsuspected things which made the work extremely complicated. But now all that is behind us.” There is then a question of a period of several months to run the tram “empty” from October 2024. Finally, the entry into circulation and therefore the marketing is still scheduled for January 31, 2025.
A “great deal”…
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