SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), March 14 (SeeNews) – Bosnian state owned-motorway company JP Autoceste FBiH said it has cancelled the tender for the construction of the Pocitelj-Zvirovici motorway subsection of Corridor Vc.
The tender, launched in 2014, was cancelled with the aim of speeding up the completion of the project and putting into operation the funds approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the subsection's construction, the company said in a statement on Monday.
A new tender, via a shortened procedure, will be launched soon, JP Autoceste FBiH added.
According to local media reports, the tender was cancelled because the company chose a consortium consisting of engineering firms Euroasfalt and Strabag as the best bidder, even though the offer submitted by a tie-up of local company Hering and Zagreb-based Viadukt was 20% cheaper. In turn, the EIB blocked the funds and ordered the tender be canceled.
JP Autoceste FBiH admitted that the bank has launched an investigation into the manner in which the tender was awarded. It said it is not trying to hinder the process.
"By deciding to cancel the tender, JP Autoceste FBiH is not trying to influence the course of the activities launched by the EIB's Department of Investigation and insists on being informed of the results", the company said.
The tender was worth 200 million marka ($108.8 million/102.3 million euro).
The Pocitelj-Zvirovici subsection is located in the southeastern part of the Federation, one of the two entities that form Bosnia. The other is the Serb Republic.
(1 euro= 1.95583 marka)