Publish Date : 09-Mar-2020
The Ministry of Transport invited three participants in the competitive dialogue to submit bids for the project of construction and operation of the 32-kilometer D4 highway in the so-called PPP mode, ie the public-private partnership. This is a follow-up to the four rounds of competitive dialogue that took place between April 2019 and January 2020. The completion of the motorway is expected to start at the turn of this and next year, and is expected to be operational by the end of 2023.
It is basically an operational leasing motorway where the state is the owner of the motorway, but it will only start paying when the finished motorway starts operations and will only be valid if impeccable services are provided. Just as for the completion of the Psek D4, we are considering using PPP projects for the completion of the Central Bohemian D3 or the D35 motorway as an alternative northern route connecting Bohemia with Moravia and Silesia, says Transport Minister Karel Havl ek. The Ministry of Transport expects to submit the bids by the end of May 2020 and subsequently, in addition to the actual evaluation, the approval by the Government and the Chamber of Deputies will also take place. The conclusion of the concession contract can be expected in the autumn of 2020 so that the preparatory work can be started at the turn of this and next year.
Companies that represent the world leader in the construction and operation of motorways and other infrastructure projects participate in the ongoing procurement procedure. Specifically, these are the consortia DIVIa (Vinci, Meridiam and Eurovia), Via4 - Southern Link (Porr, OHL, EGIS and Macquarie), and HO-ST - South Bohemia Link (Hochtief and Strabag). "These participants met the qualifications in the first round, which could be attended by an unlimited circle of potential suppliers, and subsequently participated in all negotiations within the competitive dialogue, in total seven candidates entered the qualification round," adds project coordinator Martin Jane ek from the Ministry of Transport.
The D4 PPP project is not only about completing the D4 motorway along the entire length of the missing 32 km (including related buildings along the route), but also its financing from private investor sources and proper operation and maintenance of the motorway for the duration of the concession contract. Consequently, the concessionaire will bear the risk of repayment of his own invested funds for a period of 28 years. From the perspective of users, the highway will be charged in the same way as other roads in the Czech Republic. The receipt of these fees will be an income of the SFDI and will not be in any way connected with the payment to the concessionaire, which is paid solely on the basis of the principle of adherence to the quality of services.
The state will start paying for the highway only after its opening:
Payments by the concessionaire shall be determined by the State according to the quality of the operation of the D4 motorway and the fulfillment of other obligations. The concessionaire will therefore be financially sanctioned, for example, for any closures that arise as a result of non-compliance with his obligations, and sanctions will also be increased in the event of closures at peak hours, explains Jane ek.
The bid price will therefore include not only the cost of constructing the motorway and related facilities and technologies, but also the cost of proper operation or the risk of such deductions. The state will be the owner of the motorway for the entire duration of the concession contract, but it will apply after the finished motorway is opened and only in the case of faultless services. As an example, according to Jane ek, there are requirements for compliance with transversal and longitudinal inequality (highways without hups and ruts), where in the case of non-compliance in any half-kilometer section, the whole section will be considered unavailable and no payment will be paid for it.
"In this context, it can be assumed that the motorway surface in the southern part of the motorway will be completely restored and safety bays will be added to enable the safe shutdown of defective vehicles," explains the project coordinator. Responsibility for the implementation of the project is largely assumed by the concessionaire, but it is still the state that is the actual owner of the entire highway from the moment of its construction to the termination of the concession agreement.
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