After nearly a two-year long procedure, SIA Rigas mikroautobusu satiksme (RMS) has once again acquired rights to provide minibus transport services in the capital.
As confirmed by Rigas satiksme representative Viktors Zakis, the current value of the contract is EUR 96 million and the term is eight years. RMS and RS have been cooperating since 2012, when the two signed a contract for EUR 25 million. The contract provided for provision of services for a period of five years – until April 30.
The new contract provides for using thirteen minibus and seven express bus routes.
The company announced the talks procedure for provision of public transport services in Riga in summer 2016. Two contenders were picked during the talks procedure – RMS and an association consisting of Liepajas autobusu parks and Nordeka.
During the procurement procedure, Liepajas autobusu parks and Nordeka had appealed qualification requirements multiple times. Later on in the project, the two companies had also appealed the assessment criteria.
Changes to the requirements were made following recommendations from the Procurement Monitoring Bureau and court. In the end, however, RMS was picked as the victor.
Liepajas autobusu parks management board member Leonids Krongorns sad that after the last verdict of the Supreme Court, his company concluded there was no way to win in this procurement. Because of that, the company has decided not to participate.
“We lost because the court decided to leave in all the points we tried to appeal. The verdict was allegedly beneficial for us, saying that there should be competition. However, after reading through the rest of the points detailed in the procurement, we still lost,” said Krongorns. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
