Bro, grab a coffee and sit down, because I've got news that'll make you realize how slick some people are around here! The Court of Accounts discovered some fake payments of over 5.5 million lei on Metro Line 6, the one that's supposed to take us to Otopeni Airport. Now, I'm not surprised by anything anymore, but when I heard the figure - 5.5 million, bro! - I lost it. I mean, you're sitting there waiting for a metro to the airport so you don't have to pay 100 lei for a taxi, and these guys are billing for work that was never done. Just like at Fane's terrace when he says he's buying the round but disappears when the waiter comes.
The auditors went cold-blooded everywhere. At the Otopeni station, the upper slab was billed at 31.76%, even though on site it was zero execution - zero, bro, not a single rebar! Damage: 1,722,176.59 lei. At the Otopeni Airport station, even worse: upper slab billed at 74.02% versus 48.67% completed, another 2,007,062.60 lei. Intermediate slab 37.49% versus 24.54%, plus another 1,746,671.28 lei. And the raft foundation, 12.43% versus 11.90%, but they still took 54,593.24 lei there. Total: 5,530,503 lei. About as much as Relu's BMW, but times 50.
And it's not just the money, bro. The Court of Accounts said Metrorex has a totally crap internal control - basically, nobody checks what's being billed. And worse: between 2023 and 2026, no internal audit mission to verify external funds. I mean, you get money from the EU or banks, and you don't check anything? That's what Mioara does when she gives me the shopping list: writes "bread, milk, cheese," but I buy a shawarma and beer, and she doesn't check the receipt. But here we're talking millions, not my shawarma.
The Court gave three recommendations, with a deadline of October 30, 2026: reanalyze the payments, revise verification procedures, and include external funds in the audit. Metrorex says it complied and has an implementation plan. But I, for one, ain't buying that story. How much money has already gone down the drain? Because 5.5 million is just what they caught now. It's like the joke: "How do you steal a billion? One million at a time."
Now, let's not forget that Line 6 is an investment of 7.9 billion lei, excluding VAT, and must be ready by December 2032. It'll have 14.2 km and 12 stations, from 1 Mai to Otopeni Airport, passing through Romexpo, Băneasa Station, and the towns along DN1. The tunnel contracts were signed in 2022 and 2023, with Turkish companies: Alsim Alarko - MAKYOL and Gülermak - Somet. By the end of 2026, Metrorex hopes to have Section 1 at 91% and Section 2 at 61% of structural works. But the architectural works, track, and installations are just starting. So, if you want to take the metro to Otopeni before 2032, you'd better get a taxi subscription. Or, if you're like me, call Relu and ask him to take you in his Audi, since he's always bragging anyway.
I'm off to explain to Mioara why I no longer trust big projects - she'll say I'm paranoid, but at least I know nobody took 5.5 million from my pocket. Yet.
