Pesa, Poland, Stadler, and Hyundai-Rotem have all submitted offers for the contract, although it has been reported that Pesa has not provided the required financial security.
The contract is projected to be worth a total of €153.6m, and the bids received range from €35,078 to €50,817 for the average monthly lease per vehicle, and between €287.84 and €559 for maintenance of a train per 1000km. The successful bidder will supply the vehicles within 18 and 28 months after the award of the contract with the bid evaluation expected to take three months. PV says it will look to purchase the trains at the end of the contract if credit resources are less than the cost of a lease.
PV CEO Mr Artis Birkmanis says that when introduced the trains will be the most modern, fastest and economic mode of transport in Latvia. "The tender for the new trains is one of the most important tenders in the history of the company as well as an important milestone in its development," he says.
PV's head of procurement Mr Normunds Sinkevics says that the tender's regulations were changed several times during the process following questions raised by bidders. However, Spanish manufacturer CAF has submitted a complaint to the European Commission (EC) regarding these alterations.
CAF says that PV changed the prospective tender's regulations, including its funding structure and distribution of responsibilities, significantly after the 30-day deadline for submission of bids, which is contrary to European Union regulations. The EC is now set to examine the company's tender regulations, and if this is found to be the case, PV would have to terminate the tender and start the process again.
CAF has also submitted four complaints to Latvia's Procurement Monitoring Bureau over the tender, with one accepted.
