EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Railways, Transport

Stadler claims that the court has failed to take into consideration a few important factors that made it impossible for several bidders to offer to supply new trains for Pasazieru vilciens, reports LETA.

Stadler notes in the claim that the court has not assessed the bid filed by the Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. (CAF), selected by Pasazieru vilciens to supply the new trains, and that the court had permitted one of the bidders to extend its offer.

Stadler is disappointed that the court did not assess the compliance of CAF bid with the technical specifications of the procurement. Therefore, the bid submitted by CAF and its compliance with the regulations still remain questionable, said Firmanis.

Stadler believes that the bid by CAF does not meet several technical criteria, and therefore it should have been rejected by Pasazieru vilciens. Furthermore, Stadler suspects that the financial offer by CAF is very disadvantageous for Pasazieru vilciens and Latvian taxpayers: the Spanish company's offer provides for surprisingly high maintenance costs when compared to international standards, said Firmanis.

Stadler also states that the court only checked part of its previous complaint, that the company had not been permitted to extend its offer while the other bidder was allowed to extend its offer, informed Firmanis.

Stadler claims that Pasazieru vilciens had to treat all the bidders equally, and it should not have asked detailed explanations from Stadler why it had to extend its offer if no such claims were made against the other bidders too.

Pasazieru vilciens permitted CAF to extend its offer by 53 days, which proves that Stadler was discriminated against. Stadler suspects that Pasazieru vilciens did not ask CAF to present detailed explanations why its offer had to be prolonged.

These and other arguments is the reason why Pasazieru vilciens should not hurry to sign contract with CAF, and why Pasazieru vilciens should wait for the court to make the final decision on the matter, said Firmanis.

As reported, CAF has extended its offer to supply new trains for Pasazieru vilciens, taking into consideration the decisions taken by the government and courts at the end of January, as Pasazieru vilciens previously confirmed to the Nozare.lv business portal.

The Cabinet of Ministers on January 24 gave a go-ahead for the contract on new trains for Pasazieru vilciens, and so did the Administrative Court on January 25, rejecting Stadler's petition that demanded suspension of the Procurement Monitoring Bureau's decision to grant permission for the LVL 429.24 million procurement.

CAF was selected by Pasazieru vilciens to supply 34 new electric and seven new diesel trains.