Compliance requirements
The bidder must confirm that neither it nor its management, administrative or supervisory body members, procurators, or other persons authorised to represent, control or make decisions for it have been finally convicted within the last five years of participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, terrorism, money laundering or terrorist financing, or the use of child labour or other forms of human trafficking.
Exclusion grounds may also include failure to pay taxes or social security contributions; breaches of environmental, social or labour-law obligations; bankruptcy, liquidation or another insolvency situation; assets being administered by a liquidator or court; suspended business activities; serious professional misconduct; agreements restricting competition; a conflict of interest; or prior involvement in preparing the procurement in a way that creates an undue advantage.
The bidder must also not have lost a previous public contract, paid damages or comparable sanctions because of a material breach, or submitted false or misleading information, failed to provide required information or documents, or obtained confidential information to gain an undue advantage. The notice also covers breaches involving the employment of illegally residing foreign nationals, applicable international or national sanctions, and restrictions on the right to participate in the procurement.
For tax and social security debt, the notice states a threshold of EUR 0; a tax-debt certificate is not issued, among other cases, where the debt is below EUR 100 or payment has been deferred. First-tier subcontractors will be checked and subcontractors must submit a European Single Procurement Document. Where an exclusion ground applies, evidence of remedial measures restoring reliability may be submitted where permitted.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must provide a team of at least three people with the following roles:
- a project manager with at least a master’s degree or equivalent higher education in environmental engineering, water management, environmental management, economics, engineering, environmental governance or another field directly related to the subject matter of the tender, and participation as a project manager in at least two similar projects during the 60 months preceding the start of the procurement;
- an economic analyst with at least a master’s degree or equivalent higher education in economics, finance, financial management, business economics, accounting, business administration or another field related to economic or financial analysis, and participation as an economic or financial analyst in at least two similar projects during the preceding 60 months;
- a consulting designer or sewerage engineer with at least a master’s degree or equivalent higher education in environmental engineering, water management, environmental engineering, water and sewerage engineering or another technical field related to the subject matter of the tender, participation in at least two similar projects during the preceding 60 months, and a professional qualification equivalent to a certified water supply and sewerage engineer, level 7. Evidence of a foreign professional certificate must be provided upon request.
A similar project must concern wastewater treatment, stormwater management or public water supply and sewerage, and must include at least one of the following: preparation of a development plan, action plan, implementation plan or other strategic document; analytical, planning or design work; analysis of investment needs or investment prioritisation; preparation of CAPEX, OPEX or another economic analysis; analysis of funding needs, funding sources or water-service affordability; or preparation of a long-term investment programme.
Detailed information and CVs for the team members must be submitted using the contracting authority’s form, allowing their education, qualifications and experience to be verified. The bidder must also provide each team member’s consent to being appointed and participating in contract performance, together with written confirmation permitting the processing of their personal data. The project manager may perform additional roles if the relevant requirements are met. The consulting designer and sewerage engineer roles may be performed by one or more people.
The bidder must submit a compliant technical description of the work and follow the requirements in the tender documents and evaluation methodology. The technical description must address the requirements arising from Article 23 of Directive (EU) 2024/3019 and will be assessed under the award criterion “Description of the work”. The bid price must follow the prescribed structure. The available documents do not specify a minimum turnover or other financial-capacity threshold.