Tender for contracting Bucharest subway extension to the airport suspended

The auction for the 1 Mai – Tokyo/Băneasa section of the sixth line (M6) of Bucharest's subway network was suspended after two bidders rejected in an early stage of the process, Astaldi of Italy and Aktor of Greece, challenged the selection process to the relevant body (CNSC) on January 6, local Economica.net reported.

This segment represents the first half of the line that aims at linking Bucharest’s main airport Henri Coanda in Otopeni, north of Bucharest, to the city center. The segment will be financed from the European Union budget.

On January 6, the company that operates the subway network, Metrorex, was going to send invitations to the other six bidders that made it to the second selection stage. The contract has an estimated value of RON 1.27 billion (some EUR 267 million), without VAT and it should be completed within four years from the signing of the contract.

The Romanian authorities plan to build both sections of the subway line, namely 1 Mai – Tokyo and Tokyo – Otopeni airport, at the same time. However, they received EU financing only for the first section while for the second segment they are still waiting for the Japan International Cooperation Agency to approve the revision of the loan agreement signed in 2010.

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(Photo source: Andrei Gabriel Stanescu/Dreamstime.com)