Jul 07, 2011 12:09 PM

Ugly Highway Crash for Chinese Firm in Poland

By staff reporters Gu Yongqiang and Wang Xiaoqing, and London correspondent Ni Weifeng

A Polish highway project that was supposed to crack open the lucrative European construction market for a Chinese engineering conglomerate has slammed doors instead.

On June 13, Poland's General Directorate for National Roads and Highways (GDDKiA) announced the decision to cancel its 1.3 billion zloty (US$ 472 million) construction contract with China Overseas Engineering Group Co. (Covec). Covec's consortium included Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co. and China Railway Tunnel Group Co. Ltd.