Cengiz wins Slovenia's tender for 2nd pipe of Karavanke tunnel - report

Slovenian state-owned motorway company DARS picked up Cengiz' offer on December 3 at the latest round of negotiations with all of the three remaining bidders in the tender, public broadcaster RTV Slovenija reported on Tuesday.

The decision to pick Cengiz is now pending approval of DARS' supervisory board. If it takes effect by the end of the year, a contract with Cengiz could be signed after the New Year holidays and works could start in spring, RTV Slovenija said.

According to unofficial data, Cengiz has lowered its bid to 98.5 million euro in the latest round of negotiations from the originally proposed 99.6 million euro for the construction of Karavanke's eastern pipe. The other two bidders have also reportedly lowered the price of their offers but failed to outbid Cengiz.

In particular, the consortium comprising Slovenia's Kolektor CGP, Riko and Turkey's Yapi Merkenzi had slashed its offer to 104 million euro from 121 million euro, while a consortium of Austria's Implenia Osterreich, Implenia Switzerland and Slovenianl firm CGP Novo Mesto had lowered its bid to 115 million euro from 121.4 million euro, the media report said.

The procedure for selecting a contractor has been unfolding for more two years now since DARS opened the first tender in December 2017. Complaints by interested bidders challenging DARS' previous decisions have impeded the process.

The eastern tube of the Karavanke tunnel through Slovenia, to the border with Austria, will be 3,546 metres in length.

($=0.903113 euro)