Rozhodnutí ÚOHS o zrušení výběru dodavatele druhé etapy metra D

Decision on the cancellation of the Supplier Selection for the Second Phase of Metro D

A recent decision by the Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "Office"), which confirms the Office's decision dated January 28, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the "Decision"), concerns a public contract worth approximately 30 billion CZK, which is of fundamental importance for the development of transport infrastructure in Prague. The confirmation comes at a time when the Metro D project is already significantly delayed, and the Decision, along with the rejection of the appeal against it, will undoubtedly lead to further delays.

The administrative proceedings to review the selection of the supplier were initiated in September 2024 based on a proposal from a construction consortium (participant in the tender procedure), which raised objections to discrepancies in the procedure of the contracting authority (Prague Public Transit Company) during the evaluation of bids. The Office reviewed the contracting authority's procedure leading to the selection and then, within the Decision, found violations of two key principles of the tender procedure by the contracting authority:

• Principle of Transparency: The contracting authority awarded points for the experience of the members of the selected supplier's expert team without sufficient documentation of this experience.
• Principle of Equal Treatment: The applicant was not invited to supplement information about the qualifications of its expert personnel, while the selected supplier was given this opportunity, even repeatedly.

Both the applicant and the selected supplier filed an appeal against the Decision. The Chairman of the Office, in his decision dated March 24, 2025, confirmed the legality of the first-instance Decision and emphasized that the documents submitted by the selected supplier did not meet the requirements set by the tender documentation. Based on this decision, the Prague Public Transit Company must reassess the bids of both participants in the tender procedure and re-decide on the selection of the supplier.

Practical Recommendations

What lessons can contracting authorities learn from the Decision? Those experienced in public procurement may not be surprised that it is necessary to:

• Ensure the evaluation criteria are set clearly and unambiguously;
• Emphasize the verification of submitted references and qualification documents and, in case of doubts, request additional information from participants – if requesting additional information from one participant, keep in mind that similar opportunities should be given to all other participants; and
• Verify the truthfulness of references from independent sources, preferably directly from the contracting authorities (i.e., clients) of the respective contracts.

The Office's Decision to cancel the selection of the supplier for the second phase of Metro D underscores the importance of a transparent and fair process in public procurement. Although the Decision can be considered correct, the schedule of one of Prague's key infrastructure projects is unfortunately adversely affected by it.

If you have any questions about whether the conclusions of the Decision may affect you as a contracting authority or a supplier, please contact the authors of the article or other members of the EY Law firm or EY team you collaborate with.

Authors:

Matěj Korger
Jan Turek
Matěj Plšek