Compliance requirements
The bidder must confirm that neither the bidder, its management or supervisory board members, nor persons authorised to represent or control it have received a final conviction during the last five years for participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, terrorism-related offences, money laundering or terrorist financing, or offences involving child labour or human trafficking. The exclusion grounds also cover tax or social security payment arrears, breaches of environmental, social or labour law obligations, bankruptcy, liquidation or another insolvency situation, assets administered by a liquidator or court, suspended business activity, serious professional misconduct, anti-competitive agreements, conflicts of interest, previous involvement in preparing the procurement, and serious breaches, early termination or sanctions under previous contracts. The grounds also include submitting false information, failing to provide required information or documents, or attempting to improperly influence the procurement procedure. International sanctions, enabling an unlawfully staying foreign national to work, and convictions for tax offences are also checked. The threshold for tax and social security payment arrears is EUR 0; however, the documents state that the tax authority does not issue a tax debt certificate where the tax debt is below EUR 100 or payment has been deferred. Where an exclusion ground applies, evidence of remedial measures may be submitted in cases where this is permitted. First-tier subcontractors are checked during contract performance, and the bidder must confirm that it will not engage a subcontractor who would have to be replaced.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must be entered in the business register of its country of establishment and must provide registration details or supporting evidence where required. The bidder’s average annual net turnover in the road construction field over the last three completed financial years must be at least EUR 300,000. If the business has operated for less than three years, the average is calculated over the years in operation. Consolidated group turnover is generally not accepted, except in the cases described for a parent company or where the parent company confirms that its financial resources may be used. If relying on another entity’s resources, the bidder must also submit that entity’s ESPD and a statement signed by both parties confirming the availability and use of the resources and joint and several liability for the relevant part of the contract.
Within the last 60 months, the bidder must have completed at least one qualifying reference project involving reconstruction of a road substructure and double surface dressing in a settlement or urban environment over a section of at least 500 metres. The bidder must submit a list of reference projects and the client’s confirmation that the works were completed in accordance with the contract, including the client’s name and contact details. The bidder must also have completed at least one street lighting construction project within the last 60 months; subcontractor experience may be used for this requirement. For both references, the required details concerning the works, value, period, area of responsibility and client contacts must be provided.
The bidder must appoint a project manager for the works who holds a road engineer professional qualification at level 6 or higher and has experience from at least two similar projects completed during the last three years. A similar project means road surface dressing combined with reconstruction of the road base. A document proving the qualification and the project manager’s CV must be submitted.
For a joint bid, a power of attorney from the joint bidders must be included. The tender must comply with all tender document requirements; conditional tenders are not permitted, and the price must be submitted in the prescribed structure together with the price submission form. Where relevant, equivalence must be explained and supporting evidence must be provided. The bidder must identify and justify any trade secret, but the tender price may not be classified as a trade secret. The bidder must also confirm that the offered goods are not subject to international sanctions and do not originate from sanctioned regions.