On January 09, 2020 Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg and Minister for Gozo Justyne Caruana, announced Infrastructure Malta is inviting interested companies or consortia to participate in the first of a three-stage process, to identify the concessionaire who will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Malta-Gozo Tunnel. The duration of the concession will be determined in the final stages of this process. At the end of the concession period, the concessionaire will be required to transfer the tunnel infrastructure to the Government.
CEO of Infrastructure Malta, Eng. Fredrick Azzopardi delivered a technical presentation about the latest developments of the Malta-Gozo tunnel project, including the concessionaire selection process.
Prospective bidders have 3 months to answer a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). The PQQ also indicates that the Government’s preferred option is for this project to be self-financed, without any form of guarantees or subsidies. Details on tolls or other fees for tunnel users are not being requested in the PQQ stage. They will be identified during the final stage, which will focus on the bidders’ financial proposals.
The five top-ranking bidders of the initial PQQ stage will qualify for the second stage, which includes an Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD). During this stage, participants shall submit detailed technical plans of the proposed tunnel structure as well as the implementation, operation and maintenance solutions they would adopt if entrusted with the concession. Each participant will be invited to dialogue meetings to explain the proposal to the evaluation team analysing each proposal.
The selection process will be concluded with the Best and Final Offer
(BAFO) stage. PQQ shortlisted candidates who would have participated in the ITPD stage will be requested to submit a final proposal for the project. This will include a detailed technical and financial offer based on the solution proposed in the previous stage. The selection team will then identify and recommend the best offer based on pre-established criteria.
The planning of the Malta-Gozo Tunnel Project started several years ago as Transport Malta launched several technical, social and economic studies assessing the project’s viability. Infrastructure Malta was entrusted with this project when it was established in 2018. Soon after, in December of the same year, it issued a pre-information notice, which announced its intention to launch a competitive process to select the concessionaires that will develop this new infrastructure.
In 2018, the agency also engaged a team of independent experts approved by the planning and environmental authorities to conduct an extensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the proposed project. This study will be completed after the final proposed tunnel plans are confirmed through the procurement process being launched this week, so that the final assessment will take into consideration all specifications of the final design. Once completed, the EIA will be published for public consultation as part of the established planning and environmental authorities’ process to determine the project permits.
Click here for a video launching the selection process, here and mt/16 for tunnelbuilder archive. For further information please click here. 03/20.
