Almost the equivalent of the annual budget of the regional council of La Réunion. And a little less than its total outstanding debt. Estimated at 971 million, the compensation claims of the two groups of companies led by Vinci and Bouygues, for the additional costs of the construction of the new coastal road (NRL), represent a sword of Damocles for the finances of the community. Financial claims qualified on numerous occasions “indecent” and “extravagant” by the president of the community, Huguette Bello (various left).
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After a conciliation procedure and mediation that failed, the dispute must first be settled by the administrative court of Saint-Denis de La Réunion. On Tuesday, September 17, the court examined a first wave of claims relating to sea dike construction sites between 2014 and 2019. That is nearly 300 million euros, including late payment interest.
A strategic 12.3-kilometre axis linking the north and west of the island to replace the old road subject to rockfall, the NRL was partially opened to traffic in August 2022. It is used daily by around 85,000 users.
Significant environmental “constraints”
In the coming weeks, the judges will consider the other disputes concerning the first offshore viaduct (5.4 kilometres built on 48 concrete piers). For this part, the claims of the major construction companies and their subsidiaries amount to 687 million euros – almost as much as the cost of a structure at 751 million euros.
With regard to the dikes, delivered more than thirty-five months late, the main complaints raised by the companies concern the problems with the supply of rocks and backfill, which resulted in an extension of the duration of the construction site and significant additional costs. The companies believe that they had to carry out additional work, studies and investments that were essential to complete the works. They also claim to have faced significant “constraints” environmental issues, such as the presence of dolphins, humpback whales and seabirds requiring a reduction in the daily working hours.
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In her conclusions, the public rapporteur, Elisabeth Baizet, ruled that the faults attributed to the regional council in the design and execution of the contracts could not be upheld, and that the damages claimed were not “justified”According to the magistrate, the group cannot invoke, in many cases, “material, unforeseeable, exceptional difficulties” having resulted in “a disruption of the contract economy”. She requested that almost all of the appeals be dismissed.
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