Scandalous Exclusion of Foreign Companies by ARRSH in 200 Million Euro Tenders

10:26, 15/04/2024

It has come to light that the Albanian Road Authority (ARRSH) is implementing measures that effectively exclude foreign companies from participating in tenders worth approximately 200 million euros. This exclusionary practice goes beyond simply dividing projects into lots; it extends to the requirement for equivalent licenses in Albanian. However, the application deadline for these tenders is set at 30 days, whereas it takes 38 days to obtain the necessary licenses through the e-Albania platform. Consequently, even if foreign companies submit their applications on the day of the announcement, they cannot fulfill the prerequisite of obtaining equivalent licenses within the stipulated timeframe, leading to automatic disqualification.

In early April 2024, ARRSH initiated at least 13 procurement procedures for various road construction, expansion, or rehabilitation projects, collectively valued at around 200 million euros.

The tender documents for these projects, while mostly identical except for specific road axes and funding limits, were prepared in both Albanian and English languages.

Furthermore, according to the tender documents, these procedures were publicized in international media platforms, with the expressed intent of inviting bids from international companies. The announcements were notably featured in the international newspaper "TED."

However, this apparent openness to international participation appears to be mere lip service. Hidden within the standard tender documents is a small, almost inconspicuous detail that effectively deters foreign companies from participating in the lucrative tenders offered by the Albanian Road Authority.

As a result, the outcome often mirrors the status quo, with tenders being awarded to a select few local entities, frequently declared as the winners of these contracts. This pattern suggests a recurring trend of favoritism towards local interests, undermining the purported goal of fostering fair competition and maximizing value for public projects.

Tender Deadlines

In the recently announced tenders, the Albanian Road Authority has allotted participating companies deadlines ranging from 30 to 36 days to submit their offers.

Such deadlines are typical in tenders with significantly lower values and are commonly employed by public institutions.

However, for the multimillion-euro procedures overseen by the Albanian Road Authority, which demand a deeper level of expertise and rely heavily on companies from Western regions, these deadlines are unduly discriminatory.

The rationale behind this discrepancy is straightforward.

The standard tender documents include a provision regarding the qualification criteria for foreign companies.

It states, "Foreign companies must obtain equivalence for the professional licenses issued by their country of origin, from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, Republic of Albania. (As per the Regulation on the criteria and procedures for granting professional licenses for the implementation, classification, and discipline of legal entities engaged in construction activities, approved by VKM no. 42, dated 16.01.2008). Failure to comply with this requirement constitutes grounds for disqualification."

The tender documents mandate that foreign companies seeking to participate in the procedure must obtain equivalence for their professional licenses from the Ministry of Infrastructure.

In case foreign companies fail to include the document demonstrating the equivalence of their professional licenses along with other tender documents, they will be promptly disqualified.

The process of obtaining equivalence for licenses of foreign companies is conducted via the government portal, e-Albania.

Boldnews.al has verified the procedure for obtaining equivalence of professional licenses for foreign companies.

The government portal offers detailed instructions on completing the registration and electronically submitting the request for license equivalency.

The instructions conclude with the statement: "Expected processing time for the service: 38 days."

Thus, foreign companies require 38 days to obtain the equivalence of professional licenses through the government portal.

However, it's noteworthy that while the Albanian Road Authority (ARRSH) has set deadlines ranging from 30 to 35 days for the submission of offers in 13 tenders amounting to 200 million euros, foreign companies need 38 days for the license equivalence process.

Even if foreign companies interested in Albanian tenders were to apply from the initial days of the tender announcement and its publication in foreign media, they would still be unable to obtain the equivalence of professional licenses within the specified 30-35 day timeframe. The Ministry of Infrastructure and the relevant authorities would respond within 38 days, specifically 3 to 5 days after the offer submission deadline.

Furthermore, according to the standard documents of these tenders, the failure to provide this form (i.e., equivalent licenses for foreign companies) constitutes grounds for disqualification.

Here's the list of tenders announced by ARRSH at the beginning of April 2024, along with their respective deadlines for the submission of offers:

1. Tender: Traffic Monitoring Center (Phase II)

- Limit fund: 1,257,327,869 ALL

- Date of announcement: 11.04.2024

- Closing date: 15.05.2024

Deadline for submission of offers: 34 days

2. Tender: Completion of Works on Secondary Roads By Pass Plepa - Kavajë - Rrogozinë on the Left Side

- Limit fund: 57,953,533 ALL

- Date of announcement: 08.04.2024

- Closing date: 25.04.2024

Deadline for submission of offers: 13 days

3. Tender: Rehabilitation of the Main Squares and Areas near the Albanian Customs Points

- Limit fund: 249,417,164 ALL

- Date of announcement: 04.05.2024

- Closing date: 24.04.2024

Deadline for submission of offers: 19 days

4. Tender: Construction of Berat - Ballaban road, Lot 1.

- Limit fund 1,906,685,712 ALL.

- Date of announcement: 03.04.2024

- Closing date: 08.05.2024

Deadline for submission of offers 35 days

5. Tender: Expansion of Ksamil road.

- Limit fund 1,666,361,655 ALL.

- Date of announcement: 03.04.2024

- Closing date: 08.05.2024

Deadline for submission of offers: 35 days

6. Tender: Construction of Berat - Ballaban road, Lot 2.

- Limit fund 12,257,611,208 ALL.

- Date of announcement: 03.04.2024

- Closing date: 08.05.2024

Deadline for submission of offers: 35 days

7. Tender: Expansion of the Tirana-Durres highway (Phase II).

- Limit fund 1,666,528,125 ALL.

- Date of announcement: 03.04.2024

- Closing date: 08.05.2024

Deadline for submission of offers: 35 days

8. Tender: Expansion of the Elbasan - Qafë Thane road (Phase V).

- Limit fund 2,493,781,944 ALL.

- Date of announcement: 02.04.2024

- Closing date: 08.05.2024