After hearing Lancelot's words, cold sweat nearly broke out on Besher-Ivanov's brow. Errors in cost estimates were not a problem in themselves, but once the discrepancy exceeded twenty percent, the cause had to be investigated. Now the gap was more than double. If confirmed, this would be an extremely serious administrative mishap.
Under ordinary circumstances, if a mistake occurred and was corrected in time, it would not be such a major issue. But this time was different. Who was going to fill a bottomless pit more than sixty billion Lev deep?
Fortunately, this was before the bid was awarded. If it had happened afterward, the winning bidders could have used this evaluation report to shake down the government—demanding full payment of all construction and management costs, then making the Ministry of Transportation take over construction. The Ministry of Transportation would probably have been bled dry!
Of course, such a thing could never happen in Bulgaria. Try shaking down the government and still expect to live the good life?
What Besher feared now was that these two companies would be scared off by the cost. How would they wrap things up afterward? As Minister of Transportation, he would be in deep trouble!
After a moment of silence, Smith spoke. "Our Bulgarian Highway Construction Company has limited financial strength. We are unable to bear an investment of more than 120 billion Lev!"
Howell followed at once. "Unfortunately, an investment of more than 120 billion Lev is simply too large. Even if spread over ten years, it would still require 12 billion Lev every year. Our Bulgarian Highway Group Company likewise lacks the means to bear this investment independently!"
Neither of them had mentioned withdrawing, which was undoubtedly good news. Besher knew that the shareholders behind both companies were beneficiaries of this plan.