Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2023-04-14
Buyer: Indre Østfold kommune
Country: NO
Contract type: Works
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 45210000: Building construction work | 70100000
Estimated value: 1 NOK

Technical requirements: Indre Østfold municipality intends to enter into a contract with the Dibber group for the purchase of properties cadastral no. 54, title no. 43 Indre Østfold municipality. The property will be used to operate a nursery school with 4 departments. Before taking possession, the seller must construct a nursery school building with associated outdoor areas, and this is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2024.
The Act and regulations on public procurements do not apply to contracts for 'land acquisition or rent of ground, existing buildings, or other real estate, or for the rights to such property', cf. the public procurement regulations, section 2-4 letter a. Established legal practice has defined that this exception is also used for procurement contracts that are signed for buildings that have not yet been built, provided that it is a real procurement contract and not a building and construction contract in accordance with the public procurement regulations, section 4-1.
Indre Østfold Municipality considers that the terms are not fulfilled here and that this contract is, therefore, a procurement contract that is exempt from the Act and regulations on public procurements.
The Public Procurement Regulations §4-1 letter d) no. 1-3 defines what is considered as a building and construction contract. The condition for characterising the contract as a building and construction contract is that;
the contracting authority (the municipality) must have a decisive influence on the nature or planning of the work", cf. § 4-1, letter d) no. 3.
In this case, the Dibber group had planned the construction of a nursery before the municipality considered purchasing the property. The seller was originally going to establish a private nursery, but these plans were put aside and the municipality was requested to purchase the property for the operation of a municipal nursery school.
The municipality was presented with a tender describing the planned building, which is attached to the notice. The municipality has made a few minor adjustments to the original tender offer, which must be considered insignificant. Apart from this, the municipality has not requested any structural changes to the tender offer submitted by the seller. The municipality has therefore exercised very little - or no - influence on the nature of the work, nor on the planning of the work.
Nor has the municipality had any influence on the choice of contractor, and the parties have also agreed to stipulate in the contract that the municipality will not be authorised to demand changes to the design of the building even after the agreement has been signed. This means that the municipality will also not have an opportunity to influence the nature or planning of the work after the contract is signed.
In this case, the municipality considers that we have not had a decisive influence on the nature and planning of the work and the contract is not covered by Public Procurement Regulations.
Questions or enquiries regarding the announcement should be directed to Property Manager, Odmund Fintland, odmund.fintland@io.kommune.no by 20.04.2023.


Winner: Løkenskogen Barnehagebygg AS
Award value: 1