Activities of VIA Lietuva AB in organising, maintenance and development of roads of national significance

• 86% of public procurement contracts for the construction of national roads were delayed. In more than a third of cases, delays ranged from six months to 3 years.
• There was a lack of consistency and transparency in the planning of national road construction works and the allocation of financial resources. As a result, it cannot be assured that Via Lietuva AB's decisions on the scope of works for the period 2021-2023 were justified.
• The funding foreseen and planned for the rehabilitation, maintenance and development of national roads for the period 2021-2026 is lower than the needs estimated by the authorities responsible for these works.

Lithuania has more than 21,000 kilometres of national roads. The responsibility for the rehabilitation, maintenance and development of these roads lies with the joint-stock company Via Lietuva (formerly the Lithuanian Road Administration). Between 2021 and 2023, EUR 1 306.5 million has been spent from the state and municipal budgets for the rehabilitation, maintenance and development of national roads. However, more than a third of these asphalt-surfaced roads are still in poor condition.

Speaking about the results of the audit "Activities of Via Lietuva AB in organising the rehabilitation, maintenance and development of roads of national significance", Auditor General Mindaugas Macijauskas pointed out that the implementation of road construction contracts is delayed from several days up to three years, the planning process of construction works lacks consistency and transparency, and funding from various possible sources is not guaranteed. "In order to ensure adequate road quality and safe and convenient road access, urgent decisions are needed on the selection of a sustainable road financing model and proper planning of the works," said the Auditor General Macijauskas.
 
In order to generate additional revenue for the rehabilitation, maintenance and development of national roads, it is planned to introduce an electronic toll collection system, to set up an infrastructure development fund and to secure revenue from commercial services. However, the implementation of these initiatives is delayed by about 3 years.

The audit found weaknesses in the planning of rehabilitation, maintenance and development of national roads. We could not ascertain whether reliable data were used to establish the priority queues for road repair and reconstruction because the documentation did not show how the values of the criteria used for road assessment were calculated, the date of the calculation and the period of time used. In addition, the selection of the road sections to be constructed in the current year and the allocation of funding were not documented, resulting in a lack of transparency and consistency in the planning and funding process.

Via Lietuva AB did not ensure proper implementation of rehabilitation, maintenance and development works on national roads. Most of the contracts (78%) for the preparation of road construction projects and (86%) for construction works were not implemented on time. The delays were due to defects in the construction works, inaccuracies in the designs and additional unforeseen works.

During the audit, structural and organisational changes took place in Via Lietuva AB: a new Director General was elected, a new senior management team was formed, the organisational structure was renewed and a change management programme was developed and implemented, covering various areas of activity.

Together with the audit findings, the National Audit Office also made recommendations on measures that could improve the situation. The implementation of these recommendations will ensure that national roads are ranked in priority queues on the basis of reliable data from evaluation criteria, that planning for road construction and other works is consistent and transparent, that design and construction works are implemented within the deadlines and that sustainable financing improves road quality and paves the way for the development of the roads, thus achieving the Company's strategic objectives.