Nordecon Infra has challenged the award decision in the procurement for the construction of the E20 highway section between Loo and Maardu

AS Merko Ehitus, Tallinna Teede AS and SIA Merks (hereinafter referred to as
the Joint Tenderers) submitted a joint tender to the public procurement
“Construction of E20 Highway Section from Loo to Maardu” (reference number
113002); their tender, submitted on 19 August 2009 and with the cost of
EEK 288 841 500.20 (without VAT), turned out to be the cheapest of the six
tenders submitted. 
 
On 23 October 2009, AS Nordecon Infra, the company which had submitted the
second-best tender (EEK 318 779 999.60 without VAT), filed a challenge with the
Public Procurement Disputes Committee requesting the annulment of Directive No
335 of the Director General of the Estonian Road Administration from 13 October
2009. With that directive, the Joint Tenderers, who had submitted a joint
tender to the public procurement No 113002 “Construction of E20 Highway Section
from Loo to Maardu”, had been qualified to tender. AS Nordecon Infra requested
the annulment for the reason that the Joint Tenderers do not meet the
qualification requirements for references and turnover. 
 
AS Nordecon Infra claims that AS Merko Ehitus was entered in the commercial
register on 1 August 2008 and as such the company cannot possibly meet the
qualification requirements which require tenderers to specify their net
turnover in the previous three financial years and the projects executed within
the previous five years; and claims that the companies Tallinna Teede AS and
SIA Merks also lack the required references and turnover data. 
 
In its ruling of 28 November 2008, the Tallinn Circuit Court stated that all
the know-how and construction expertise transferred to AS Merko Ehitus upon the
division of the company. Recently, the Tallinn Administrative Court reasserted
that Merko Ehitus was fully compliant. In its ruling of 20 October 2009, the
Tallinn Administrative Court declared as follows: “An analysis of the division
plan, prepared and notarised by AS Merko Ehitus (registry code 10068022) on 30
April 2008, clearly demonstrates that the new AS Merko Ehitus (registry code
11520257) has the expertise required for the construction of the procurement
object.” The Public Procurements Disputes Committee has taken the same
position. 


Alar Lagus
Member of Management Board
+372 6 805 109
alar.lagus@merko.ee