Payment time for the projects of the NSRF and the PDE

of Eleni Botas

The Ministry of Development is expected to repay the bills of the projects financed by the Public Investment Program by January 31, 2022, according to a relevant amendment submitted.

As provided in the amendment, by way of derogation from the relevant provisions, the payment of Public Contractors financed by the PDE is allowed, without proof of tax or insurance validity valid at the time of payment, provided that by 31.12.2021 the application of the service has been submitted to the competent financial service. performs the project, accompanied by all the required and valid payment documents at the time of submission.

This development comes after the recent letter of protest for the stoppage of payments in many projects of the NSRF and the Public Investment Program (PIP), sent by the Panhellenic Association of Technical Companies, to the general secretary of Public Investments and NSRF, Mr. Dim.

As stated in the letter, “today, which we have already entered the last month of the year, the phenomenon is not only not limited but has become general in almost all projects, according to the numerous and strong protests from our member companies, which show that since the end of October their payments from the EDP have stopped both in the co-financed part and in the purely national part.

Given that we are going through the last month of the year where, as usual, many liabilities have accumulated and the contractors are already in a very difficult financial position due to the huge increase in the prices of construction materials, labor and energy, observed in the last 12 months, most recently, while no review factors have yet been set to incorporate and compensate for these very large increases in construction costs, most Technical Companies are (at their own risk) unable to do so. to fulfill the financial obligations they have undertaken (payroll, Christmas Gift, suppliers, subcontractors, tax obligations and insurance contributions).

According to the letter, the companies were never informed that they would not be paid according to the approved project schedules and therefore are unable to incorporate such a possibility in their business planning, which according to information is expected to continue at least until the start. New Year.

In addition to SATE, the Panhellenic Association of Certified Civil Engineers (PEDMEDE) also sent a letter regarding the payment of project bills financed by the NSRF and the PDE.

As stated in the letter: “we want to point out a problem that requires immediate solution. Recently, there have been significant delays in the payment of completed works of projects that are in progress and financed by the NSRF and the EDP.

Our members, Public Works Contractors, are protesting, because this unforeseen event creates very serious financial problems and inability to complete the contracts. The risk of downtime, contract termination and loss of significant financial resources is now visible.