Public procurement notice: Contract Award Notice
Published: 2016-06-03
Buyer: Femern A/S
Country: DK
Region: Sjælland
Contract type: Works
Procedure: Competitive dialogue
CPV classification: 34513250 | 45000000: Construction work | 45100000: Site preparation work | 45112100 | 45112300
Estimated value: 572250000 EUR
Award criteria: Price, Technical and administrative

Technical requirements: Price
Technical and administrative
The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link Project (‘Project’) is the final stage in the realization of a straight traffic corridor between Scandinavia and continental Europe. This will be an immersed tunnel containing 2 dual carriageways and a twin-track railway, subject to plan approvals. It will traverse the 19 km distance across the Fehmarnbelt between Lolland in Denmark and Puttgarden in Northern Germany. The immersed tunnel elements will be manufactured at a pre-designated site at Rødbyhavn on Lolland (‘Production Site’). The principal contracts are: (1) Tunnel Dredging and Reclamation Contract; (2) Tunnel North Contract; (3) Tunnel South Contract; and (4) Tunnel Portals and Ramps Contract. Contract award notices are being simultaneously published in the Official Journal of the European Union for all 4 Principal Contracts.
The works to be carried out under the Contract were subject to a call for competition (2012/S 193-317160) and the award and terms of the Contract are in accordance with that procedure (a competitive dialogue).
Due to an unforeseen delay in the German Plan Approval process, the Contract will be concluded with the addition of a Condition Precedent. This addition follows the principle stated in the call for competition, Section VI.3) (and similarly PQQ, section 1.3.6) to the effect that the start of the construction is subject to the approval by the German planning authorities. This principle has been maintained throughout the process, including in the Stage 1 invitation and onwards.
According to the Condition Precedent, the Contract does not come into full force and effect until the Owner serves a notice with a works commencement date following the German Plan Approval having been obtained (or the Danish Ministry of Transport and Building decides to start the works regardless), and the Contract will automatically lapse no later than 1.1.2022 (the Contract has several possibilities of lapsing earlier) if the Condition Precedent has not been fulfilled by then.
The contractor will be compensated for the costs related to the inclusion of the Condition Precedent. Prior to award of the Contract, Femern A/S has discussed the terms of adding the Condition Precedent with all participating bidders in an organized process with written feedback and meetings. The terms of compensating the contractor under the Condition Precedent follow from the result of that process and include a fixed compensation for running costs as well as a capped compensation of other documented costs.
Following this, Femern A/S finalized the evaluation, identified the Preferred Bidder (see section V.3)) and awarded the Contract. In connection with the award of the Contract Femern A/S issued a Voluntary ex ante transparency notice (2016/S 048-079338) about the above-mentioned Condition Precedent. Femern A/S has now signed the Contract, including the terms relevant to the Condition Precedent, with the Preferred Bidder.
The Project is part of Priority Project No 20 of the European Community TEN-T programme. It is part of the core network corridor 5 (Helsinki-Valetta). The project code is 2007-EU-20050-P.
The total price stated in sections II.2.1) and V.4) is the total price as stated in the contract. This amount does not take the costs related to the Condition Precedent into account, as these costs may vary in accordance with the terms of the contract depending on the timing and (if relevant) terms of the final German Plan Approval.
Regarding the voluntary ex ante transparency notice, as mentioned in section II.1.4) and IV.3.2) the notice was published due to amendments to the Contract that were made during the procedure.
In the call for competition and throughout the competitive dialogue, Femern A/S has openly stated that the start of the construction work is subject to approval by the German planning authorities and the assent of the Danish Parliament to a Construction Act. Femern A/S originally planned not to award the Contract until the said approval had been obtained. However, Femern A/S considers that this does not constitute a substantial change. Femern A/S bases this on several factors but most notably (not in order of importance):
1) The German Plan Approval process has been delayed beyond the planned finalization of the tender procedure and the bidders were averse to agreeing on further extensions of the procedure (i.e. in the form of an extension of the bid validity period in return for compensation of the costs incurred).
2) Furthermore the terms of the Condition Precedent have been subject to discussion with all bidders and the Conditions replace similar terms in the existing Contract handling delays in the German Plan Approval process. This ensures that the economic balance of the Contract is not changed in favour of the contractor in a manner which was not provided for in the terms of the initial Contract.
3) Finally, as stated above, the Project has always been subject to the German Plan Approval and the added terms are a continuation of this principle, cf. also above in II.1.4) under B about the call for competition and tender documents. In the call for competition the cost of awaiting the Approval was to be compensated as bid costs. With the Condition Precedent, the cost is now covered under the Contract instead of as part of the tendering procedure.


Winner: Fehmarn Belt Contractors TDR
Number of bids: 3