The government believes conditions are sufficient to relaunch the new bid process, even within a transitional context, according to a statement provided today by the press office of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing (MIH).
In February, it was reported that the jury for the public tender concerning the high-speed rail section between Oiã and Soure, which will connect Porto to Lisbon, had concluded in a preliminary report that the Lusolav consortium, led by Mota-Engil, did not comply with the tender requirements and recommended its exclusion as the sole proposal submitted.
The MIH confirmed today that “the decision to contract, resulting from the previous tender concerning” the high-speed line for that section, will be revoked.
Regarding the relaunch of the tender, the Ministry stated that the process is already “underway through the UTAP [Technical Unit for Project Support] and IP [Infrastructure of Portugal].”
The decision to revoke the contract with the Lusolav consortium aligns with the stance of the City Council and Municipal Assembly of Coimbra, which advocated for the rejection of that proposal and the swift relaunch of the public tender.
These municipal bodies criticized the fact that the only proposal did not adhere to the IP solution, suggesting a deviation of the future intermodal station from Coimbra-B to Taveiro, outside the city.
When questioned about whether there would be a revision of the base price of the public tender, the Ministry did not provide clarification.
Nevertheless, last Friday, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, stated in an interview that he was “convinced that [the tender] will proceed with the same base price.”
This position contrasts with that of the Coimbra City Council executive, led by the coalition Juntos Somos Coimbra (PSD, CDS-PP, Nós, Cidadãos!, PPM, Aliança, RiR, and Volt), which advocates for a price revision.
“We will not accept any more small-scale projects for Coimbra,” said Coimbra Mayor, José Manuel Silva, during a discussion on the subject in the Municipal Assembly.
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