The Albanian Road Authority (ARRSH) has concluded a new public procurement procedure for the project “Completion of Works on the Qafa e Buallit–Martanesh Road”, awarding the contract once again to the same consortium of companies.
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The road section stretches for approximately 16.5 kilometers and is intended to improve connectivity and support the development of the Martanesh area. The deadline for completing this second phase has been set at 10 months.
From €11 Million to €22 Million: How the Road Bill Doubled
The new procurement comes after the initial contract for the rehabilitation and asphalt paving of the same road was signed in December 2023, as local media confirm.
That contract was also awarded to the same group of companies, with a bid of approximately 947.6 million lek (€9.4 million). The consortium was expected to complete the project by 2025.
However, the road remained partially unfinished, prompting ARRSH to launch a second tender for the “completion of the remaining works.”
The new contract means that the combined value of the two procurement procedures is now approximately 1.9 billion lek excluding VAT, or roughly €19 million excluding VAT, based on the reported contract values.
Including VAT, the overall expenditure is higher.
The figures have therefore raised questions about how the final cost of the project evolved from the approximately €11 million initially reported for the road to a figure approaching €22 million when the additional expenditure and VAT are taken into account.
The increase is particularly noteworthy because the second procurement was not presented as a completely new road project, but as a contract intended to complete works left unfinished under the original agreement.
Details of the New Tender
The latest procurement had a limit fund of 1.04 billion lek excluding VAT.
The evaluation used a points-based system, with:
- 60 points allocated to the price;
- 40 points allocated to technical criteria, including methodology, personnel, guarantees, and environmental and social impact.
The winning consortium, BE – IS, ERGI and VËLLEZËRIT HYSA, received a total of 275.40 points, submitting an offer of 952.9 million lek excluding VAT.
BAMI HOLDING ranked second with 271.80 points and an offer of approximately 989 million lek excluding VAT.
Two other bidders were excluded from the competition.
ALBAVIA, which submitted an offer of approximately 1.02 billion lek, was disqualified over deficiencies in its technical documentation and the required ISO 9001:2015 certifications.
ADIDAS – ONE was also disqualified after submitting only the works cost estimate, without the other required legal documentation.
The Same Consortium, a Second Contract
One of the most notable aspects of the procurement is that the same consortium that received the original contract in 2023 has now been selected again to complete the unfinished works.
The first contract was worth approximately 947.6 million lek, while the second contract is worth another 952.9 million lek, both excluding VAT.
The combined contract value therefore approaches 1.9 billion lek excluding VAT.
The new 10-month deadline will determine when the 16.5-kilometer Qafa e Buallit–Martanesh road can finally be considered complete.
For residents and businesses in Martanesh, the project is intended to provide a more reliable connection with the rest of the country. But the doubling of the reported project cost and the need for a second procurement after the first contract are likely to attract scrutiny over the management, completion and final cost of the infrastructure project.