Contract for Prague Metro Section Confirmed: Strabag Appeal Finally Rejected

The construction of a key section of Prague’s Metro Line D has passed an important legal hurdle. The competition authority has finally rejected the appeal by the Strabag Group and confirmed the tender process.

In the multi-billion expansion of the Prague Metro, the competition authority has taken a significant decision: the contract award remains in place. An appeal by the Strabag construction group has now been definitively rejected.

The chairman of the Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (competition authority | ÚOHS), Petr Mlsna, has rejected the appeal by the Strabag Group against the award of a key construction contract by Prague Public Transit Company (DPP). In doing so, he confirmed the first-instance decision, according to which there are no grounds for corrective measures. The ruling becomes legally binding upon delivery to all parties involved in the proceedings.

Foto: SUBTERRA

Specifically, the case concerned the construction section of the future Metro Line D between Olbrachtova and Nové Dvory. The contract was awarded to a consortium consisting of Subterra, HOCHTIEF CZ, HOCHTIEF Infrastructure and BeMo Tunneling. The Strabag Group had called for the tender to be annulled.

As early as the beginning of February, the authority had already rejected the application. At the time, it concluded that the transport company had correctly assessed the qualifications and experience of the selected consortium’s specialists. They were found to have relevant experience in tunnel construction projects using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), as well as, in part, tunnel boring machines (TBM).

Foto: Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy

In his latest decision, Mlsna dismissed all objections. Strabag had argued, among other things, that the facts had been assessed incorrectly, particularly with regard to the experience of the successful bidder’s staff. It also claimed that the principle of equal treatment had been breached and that the review of objections had been insufficient.

“The approach taken by DPP in assessing all disputed reference projects was correct and reflects a comprehensive interpretation of the tender conditions with regard to the experience of the specialists involved,” Mlsna said in a press release. The contracting authority had acted consistently in line with previous decisions by the authority and applied the criteria uniformly.

With this decision, another legal step in the tender process has been completed — and the way is now clear for the construction of a key section of the new Metro Line D.