A CONSORTIUM of two construction firms, Skanska and Strabag, appealed to the National Highway Company (NDS) on June 24 to reassess its decision to exclude the consortium from a tender on the construction of a stretch of the D1 highway between Lietavská Lúčka and Dubná Skala in Žilina Region.
“The reason for the exclusion of our bid is exceptionally surprising, and even curious. The only rational explanation might be a mistake on the part of the authority, or an inappropriate assessment of the bid,” said the CEO of Skanska, Magdaléna Dobišová, to the TASR newswire, adding that otherwise the exclusion of the consortium’s bid would have to be viewed as biased.
The evaluation process for the tender has been in progress for a year. Skanska and Strabag offered the lowest bid, at €338 million, followed by a Doprastav-led consortium with a price tag of €383 million.
The NDS initially decided that Skanska and Strabag were the winners of the bid. But Doprastav appealed that decision, objecting to the extraordinarily low price as well as the ventilation system proposed by Skanska and Strabag for the tunnel part of the project .
The NDS reassessed the competition and then excluded Skanska and Strabag, declaring the Doprastav-led consortium the winner.
The NDS refused to comment on the matter, saying that the tender proceedings are still in progress.
The Sme daily wrote that the excluded consortium has asked the NDS for a swift resolution of the matter.
