The tender for the development of the main design and execution of works on the second section of the Mateševo - Andrijevica highway received ten bids from Chinese, Turkish, Dutch and Indian companies, and among the applicants are companies that indirectly built on the first section of the highway or are working on the reconstruction of the bridge on Đurđevića Tara, the Tivat - Jaz boulevard and multi-million projects in the region...
As "Vijesti" has learned, three interstate bids were submitted for the tender: one Dutch-Turkish led by the company "Ballast Nedam Infra BV", the Turkish-Azerbaijani companies "Cengiz" and "Azvirt", as well as the Chinese-Turkish "Xingtai road and bridge construction group" and "Makimsan Asfalt Taahhut naat San".
The largest number of bids from a single country, five, came from China, submitted by "Sichuan Road and Bridge Corporation", "China Communications Construcion Company Limited", a joint venture of "PowerChina", "Stecol" and "PCCD", a group of "CC Transportation Construction Group" and "Capital Engineering & Research Incorporation", as well as a joint venture of "Shandong Foreign Economic & Technical Cooperation Co" and "Shadong Luqiao Group".
Of the other individual ones, one joint bid was received from the Turkish companies "Makyol" and "Dogus", as well as from the Indian "Afcons Infrastructure Limited".
The tender for the second section of the highway was announced on February 28 on the website of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and was supposed to last until April 29, but the deadline for submitting bids was extended to May 14 at the request of bidders. This section will cost between 550 and 600 million euros, of which the European Commission will participate with 100 million in non-refundable support, and the EBRD with a soft loan of 200 million euros. The government will therefore have to respect the wishes of its European partners.
The EBRD has the last word.
The state-owned Monteput explained to "Vijesti" that they are evaluating the bids according to the rules and procedures of the EBRD, which ensures oversight and transparency of the process, and that the bank gives final approval to the selection of the most favorable bid. They officially confirmed that ten bids were received for the tender for the second section of the highway.
"Now comes the evaluation of the technical bids, in which all submitted data and documentation are analyzed in detail. This phase will last several weeks, depending on the volume of submitted bids. After the first phase of the procedure is completed, the financial part of the bid will be submitted, and the decision on the selection of the contractor will be made after the complete evaluation is completed and approvals are received from the EBRD. The estimated value of the works on the Mateševo-Andrijevica highway section is around 550 million euros. The exact amount that will be contracted will be known after the second phase of the tender procedure is carried out, within which qualified bidders will be invited to submit their financial bids, after which we will have accurate information on the value of the works for the second section of the highway," said Monteput.
The application came from the Chinese "China Communications Construction Company" (CCCC), the parent company of the China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which was building the first section of the highway from Smokovac to Mateševo.
Among the ten is a joint bid by the Chinese companies "Shandong Foreign Economic & Technical Cooperation Co" and "SFETC & SDLQ", which are currently working on the Jaz-Tivat Boulevard, a job worth over 54 million euros. The bidder is "Shadong Luqiao Group", which was awarded the tender for the reconstruction of the bridge on Đurđevića Tara, which is worth seven million euros.
The only bid that is only partially connected to Europe is the Dutch-Turkish one, carried by “Ballast Nedam Infra”, which builds large infrastructure projects such as highways, bridges, tunnels and ports. The joint bid also includes the companies “Rec uluslararas inaat yatirim sanayi ve ticaret anonim sirketi” and “Onur taahut tasimacilik insaat ticaret ve sanayi anonim sirketi”, all of which are ultimately owned by the Turkish investment firm “Ronesan holding”.
Turks are building extensively in the region
Turkish “Cengiz” is the leader of the Turkish-Azerbaijani offer and has several daughter companies in different sectors. These subsidiaries in the Balkans are already carrying out work on the “Vc” corridor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the reconstruction of the Križevi - Koprivnica railway in Croatia, with both projects worth more than 300 million euros. According to their website, “Cengiz Holding” also manages the Istanbul Airport. Their Azerbaijani partner “Azvirt” worked on 40,3 kilometers of the Ljig - Preljina highway on the “Miloš Veliki” corridor in Serbia, but also on the Ruma-Šabac route, the Čortanovci tunnel, the aforementioned “Vc” corridor in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
Turkish "Makyol" is one of the largest contractors in that country, and is also mentioned as a favorite in the selection of contractors for the Prenj tunnel works in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A partner in their offer is also Turkish "Dogus", which owns 250 companies in the group, and is engaged in business in the automotive industry, construction, media, hospitality, real estate...
A bid from faraway India was also submitted by Mumbai's "Afcons Infrastructure Limited", which builds bridges, metros, railways, ports and marinas...
Among the Chinese, the "Sichuan Road and Bridge Corporation" stands out, established in the middle of the last century, which is owned by the state and deals with engineering, construction and mining.
One of the Chinese bids is from the company "PowerChina", which has worked on projects worth tens of millions of euros in the Balkans, including the Herzegovina Bridge on the Neretva between Mostar and Čapljina, the "Ivovik" wind farm, and the large "Saraorci" solar power plant in Serbia. Its daughter company "Stecol" is also participating in the same bid, while there is no information on the company "PCCD" on the internet.
In addition, a Chinese-Turkish offer has also arrived from the "Xingtai road and bridge construction group", along with the state-owned "Guangxi road construction engineering group" and the Turkish "Makimsan Asfalt Taahhut naat San", whose main activity is asphalt production.
Among the bids is that of the Chinese "CC Transportation construction group", which was submitted by "Capital Engineering & Research Incorporation", a state-owned technical engineering company.
Citizens have until May 20th to submit complaints about the route
The pre-qualification tender for the selection of contractors for the construction of the Mateševo - Andrijevica highway section was officially canceled on February 24th, after which the main tender was announced on February 28th, in which companies that did not pass the pre-qualification could also participate.
As "Vijesti" learned, the formal reason for the cancellation of the pre-qualification tender is that due to protests by residents of the villages of Kralje and Slatina near Andrijevica, the route was relocated by 14 kilometers, and sources said at the time that the reasons were also that European companies did not apply for the pre-qualification tender, but contractors from China, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Monteput has meanwhile formed a body that will monitor the "Complaints Mechanism", through which citizens will be able to submit comments or complaints about preparatory or other works on the second section - which negatively affect them or create consequences for the local or other population.
Public consultations on documents on the environmental and social impact of this highway route will be held from 22 to 29 May, in local communities through which the section passes. The deadline for submitting comments and objections to these documents is 20 May.
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