March 7 (SeeNews) - Seventeen bids have been submitted in a 6.67 million levs ($3.7 million/3.4 million euro) tender for developing a conceptual design for an expressway linking the northwestern city of Montana to the capital Sofia via a tunnel under the Petrohan Pass, Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency said.
The lowest-priced offer, of 3.07 million levs, was submitted by a consortium comprising civil engineering companies Via Plan and Patkonsult 2004, the government agency said in a press release on Wednesday. The bid with the highest price, at 6.67 million levs, was filed by civil engineering firm Urban Group.
The project includes an extended concept, comprehensive engineering and geological studies and a detailed layout for an 82-kilometre expressway with a 120 kilometre per hour design speed.
The selected contractor will design a route connecting Montana's bypass to the Sofia Ring Road, avoiding protected areas and complying with environmental regulations. The new route will align with separate ongoing projects for the construction of the expressway between Montana and Vratsa, as well as the Europe motorway.
The contract has a term of one year.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)