This time the tender procedures are challenged by Kauno Dujotiekio Statyba (Kaunas Pipeline Construction), which filed lawsuits in two Lithuanian courts this week, the courts’ representatives has confirmed to BNS.
“The company has filed a lawsuit due to what it sees as illegal actions and decisions made by the respondent while implementing the public procurement procedures. It means that the company asks to annul the decisions made by Klaipėdos Nafta,” Erika Tamošaitienė, spokeswoman for Klaipėda court, told BNS. She could not say whether the company had asked the court to suspend the tender.
Laura Žvirblienė, spokeswoman for Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, also confirmed to BNS that the court had received a complaint from Kauno Dujotiekio Statyba.
Unofficial sources told BNS that the offer submitted by Germany’s PPS Pipeline Systems in the reopened bidding was lower than that from the Kaunas-based company. Moreover, both bidders placed much lower offers than previously.
In their initial offers placed last October, PPS Pipeline Systems offered to build the link for 210.811 million litas (EUR 61.1m), and the Lithuanian consortium of Kauno Dujotiekio Statyba and Šiaulių Dujotiekio Statyba (Siauliai Pipeline Construction) offered to do the work for 220.877 million litas.
On December 20, the Lithuanian consortium was named the wining bidder with a 166.979-million-litas final offer, including VAT, and the German company was the runner-up with 192.182 million litas.
However, PPS Pipeline Systems filed a lawsuit over the tender, and later, as instructed by the Public Procurement Office, Klaipėdos Nafta on February 19 reopened the bidding process and invited PPS Pipeline Systems and the consortium of two Lithuanian companies to submit new final offers.
