Completion of Metro D in Písnice should start already this autumn. However, Daniel Šabik, a spokesman for the Prague Transport Agency, said that due to the circumstances, spring next year could be anticipated.
The transportation company chose Subterra and Hochtief as the winners, with a price tag of nearly thirty billion. He turned down a two billion cheaper offer from PORR, VINCI and Marti. “We see here that the two billion cheapest first participant was excluded in very special circumstances,” said Ondřej Prokop (ANO), representative of Prague and member of the DPP supervisory board.
According to DPP, the reason for exclusion was unjustified low bid price and failure to meet construction schedule conditions. “I consider the reasons for our exclusion to be absolutely ridiculous. In my entire career, I have never experienced such an open tender,” commented VINCI Group CEO Martin Borovka. The company filed objections.
“It is the legal right of every tenderer in the procurement process to file an objection against the decision of the contracting authority,” Chapik pointed out. Prague representative and member of the supervisory board of the transport company Adam Scheinherr (Prague for himself) also asked whether the offer could be clarified using the DPP to clarify inconsistencies.
DPP has fifteen days to resolve the objections
The NGO says that the transport company does not measure everyone by the same yardstick. “During the construction of the first section of the metro, the transport company exchanged challenges and explanations with Subterra a total of seven times. So the transport company, if there is any doubt, can ask for a supplement again,” said Vaněk Bonuš, the lawyer of the State Reconstruction Agency. According to Transparency International lawyer Peter Layer, the exclusion of the cheapest supplier was a mistake.
Transport Councilor and Chairman of the DPP Supervisory Board Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) said that all objections should be clarified. “If there is even a shadow of doubt after that, I will demand an audit of the entire deal,” he announced.
“We stand behind our decisions. After all, the Office of the Protection of Economic Competition or the courts have confirmed the correctness of the procedure in all cases related to Metro D,” said Chapik.
According to ČT information, the European Investment Bank is also handling the selection process. Without its debt, Prague has no secure financing. “VINCI challenged the European Investment Bank with this practice and it is already happening today. (in Polish, author’s note) We need to stop funding Metro D,” Prokop pointed out.
The fifteen-day deadline for the transport company to deal with objections ends this week. If he refuses them, the representatives of the excluded companies want to contact the Antimonopoly Office.
