Tumas Group chosen as preferred bidder for new public transport system
A consortium which includes almost 200 of the current bus owners, European transport company Arriva and local business magnate Tumas Group has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the new public transport service, the Sunday Times reported this morning.
25 July 2010, 12:00am
Charlot Zahra
Charlot Zahra
2 min read
The Arriva Malta Consortium was one of two bidders still in the race for the 10-year public transport contract. According to The Sunday Times, the consortium’s bid was €42 million cheaper than its competitor, Transdev Plus.
According to The Sunday Times, Transdev Plus Consortium had asked for an average of €11.7 million annually, while Arriva Malta Consortium had asked for an average of €7.5 million per year.
Arriva Malta and Transdev Plus were two of the four bidders that had originally submitted a tender for the multi-million euro contract.
French consortium Transdev Plus , the other shortlisted bidder for the public transport contract, was made up of European transport operator Transdev, another local business magnate Gasan Group, and CVA Technology Ltd which operates the controlled vehicle access system in Valletta.
A spokesman for the Transport Ministry refused to confirm which of the two had been proclaimed preferred bidder but instead insisted that no negotiations with any of the two consortiums were being held.
“The adjudication process of the bus services tender is still subject to appeal and the process is therefore not yet concluded. No organisation has therefore yet been invited to start negotiations. While the appeals’ period remains open, we prefer not to make any further comments on the process,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
The adjudication process had stalled for some time earlier this year when one of the bidders lodged an appeal after failing to make it through to the next stage.
In a decision last month, the Public Contracts Appeals Board had dismissed the appeal and the financial offers of the two remaining bidders were opened. The bidders were then invited to set their claim for the total subsidy they expected to be paid by the government over the 10-year contract period.
The government was hoping the 10-year contract will be signed by the end of September, The Sunday Times concluded.
Herbert Brincat •
it seems that the private jet trip to Spain earlier this year was a good investment
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Dawn ta Tumas kollox huma. Monopolju ta kollox U jekk ghandna trnasport terribbli kif se jibqu l istess nies. Veru a job for the blue eyed boys
Keith Goodlip •
Without any change taking place. I'll keep on walking, thanks.
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This project is already looking like yet another big disappointing failure. The only things that are going to change are the busses and prices. Keeping on the same drivers without sorting out the good apples from the bad ones is not acceptable, not to mention the golden opportunity the Government lost if the busses were built locally and customized for our needs. Millions are going abroad in the purchase of new busses when there are a few good companies that could have built them in Malta. If we use the past so called ‘transport’ reforms as a yardstick then one can easily conclude that this project is doomed. I would not mind any Minister watching as many live football matches as he pleases as long as we get a reasonably good Bus service but then it’s always the fat cats that come before us decent folks.
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Mhux ta bxejn il ministru Tonio Fenech kien mar fuq Jet private ta wiehed mit tfal ta Tumas fliemkien mal businessman l-iehor Gasan biex mar jara l-Arsenal jilgfhabu ghax diga beda jidher il frott ta dik it titjira He sewwa kien ghid Dr Alfred Sant hokkli dari u inhokklok tieghek il gid li jiccirkula fil gzira Maltija dejjem jiehduh tal QALBA
