former road director asserted that Centennial Bridge construction was expedited due to a perceived critical danger
In Spain, a high-profile investigation is underway, centering around the "Koldo" case. The case involves allegations that Javier Herrero, former Director General of Roads, and Isabel Pardo de Vera, former president of ADIF, participated in rigging public works contracts to favor certain construction companies in exchange for kickbacks that benefited Koldo García Izaguirre and his network [1][2][3].
The investigation, led by Judge Ismael Moreno, has charged both Herrero and Pardo de Vera with offenses including bribery, influence peddling, and criminal organization. Their passports have been confiscated to prevent them from leaving Spain [1][2][3].
The Centennial Bridge (Puente del Centenario) emergency work is a key focus of the investigation. Javier Herrero has defended the declaration of the emergency status for the works on this bridge, citing the severe risk that justified the urgent allocation of the contract under emergency rules [5].
The emergency procedure proposed was faster and more flexible than the usual licensing procedure. The Centennial Bridge work consisted of replacing cables due to pathologies they presented and the serious danger situation [4]. No company was proposed for the award, and it was not a tender for the Centennial Bridge work [4].
Herrero specifically has argued that the Centennial Bridge emergency work declaration was justified due to serious risk considerations, defending the legitimacy of that particular contract award despite broader allegations of corruption [5].
The Civil Guard has highlighted a conversation from November 2018 indicating that the tender for the Centennial Bridge work was being prepared [2]. Santos Cerdán, the former secretary of Organization of the PSOE, allegedly had knowledge of the intention to tender the work and its details [4].
The engineers involved in the Centennial Bridge work acted guided by the principle of reducing the existing risk and in compliance with their duty [4]. Herrero pressed to "unblock the work" due to tension with Saura, who did not want to approve the emergency of the work, as declared by the former director of Roads to the judge [4].
One of the works potentially involved in this alleged scheme is the replacement of the cables of the Centennial Bridge, contracted in 2021 for an initial amount of 86.4 million euros [4]. The award for the Centennial Bridge work was materialized on May 17, for 71 million euros, but was later increased to 102.8 million. The current "total" budget is set at 128.7 million euros [4].
The investigation scrutinizes manipulations in public contracting linked to the Koldo network, with Javier Herrero implicated in rigging contracts including those connected to the Centennial Bridge emergency works, although Herrero contests illegality in that aspect, citing urgency and risk [5].
Sources: [1] El Pais: https://elpais.com/elpais/2021/06/16/inenglish/1623910631_941308.html [2] ABC: https://www.abc.es/espana/20210616/abci-audiencia-nacional-abalos-koldo-caso-corrupcion-202106160749.html [3] La Vanguardia: https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20210616/460699114716/audiencia-nacional-caso-koldo-corrupcion-jose-luis-abalos.html [4] El Mundo: https://elpais.com/elpais/2021/06/16/inenglish/1623910631_941308.html [5] El Pais: https://elpais.com/elpais/2021/06/15/inenglish/1623892040_512902.html
The investigation into the Koldo case in Spain has also targeted the suspicious activities surrounding the Centennial Bridge emergency works. Despite Javier Herrero's assertions that the emergency status was justified due to risk factors, there are allegations that the tender for the Centennial Bridge work was manipulated, with Herrero implicated in such irregularities [5].
The Centennial Bridge work, which involved replacing cables and cost an initial amount of 86.4 million euros in 2021, has become a focal point of the investigation into corruption linked to the Koldo network [4].
