The project company ICGB AD informs all potential participants in the public procurement “Selection of Owner’s Engineer for the Construction of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria” that due to circumstances beyond its control the procedure has been temporarily suspended. The suspension has been caused by appeals against Decision № Р-05-COR from 12.12.2017, approving a notice of amendment or additional information, as well as an appeal against clarifications published on 12.12.2017 at the Buyer’s profile, provided by the Contracting Authority in regard to questions submitted by possible competitors for the tender. 

Pursuant to Art. 203, para. (2) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA), the two applicants benefited from the legal possibility to request the imposition of a provisional measure temporarily suspending the procedure, and the Commission for the Protection of Competition decides on the merits of this request.

Pursuant to the provision of Art. 203, para. (3) of the PPA, the Contracting Authority shall suspend all actions in the course of the procedure until entering into force of the decision rejecting the request for an interim measure or the decision on the appeal, if the provisional measure is imposed.

Upon the decision of the competent authority and in case the request for the imposition of a provisional measure is rejected, the procedure will be resumed and the time-limits for the submission of tenders will be extended so as to comply with the requirement of Art. 28, para. 5 of the Rules for Implementing the Public Procurement Act, the total duration of each of the deadlines expired up to the moment of suspension of the procedure, together with the newly determined extended terms, shall not be shorter than the initial term set by the Contracting Authority.

The Contracting Authority expects the Commission for the Protection of Competition to announce the decision urgently, taking into account the strategic importance of the IGB project for Bulgaria, as well as for the European Union. The Company reserves the right to resort to legal instruments for claiming costs in accordance to law, due to the strategic importance of the project in terms of national interest.

The Contracting Authority ensures all potential participants that they will be duly notified of all upcoming actions. ICGB AD will continue to ensure a fair, objective and transparent procedure with full access to information, and create conditions for competitive selection.

You can find more information about the deposited appeals on the web page of the Commission for the Protection of Competition - http://reg.cpc.bg/

Date 11/01/2018