Last week, the Slovak Public Procurement Office (ÚVO) rejected the final objections in the public procurement tenders for the construction of the D3 motorway at Kysuce, which had prolonged the tender process for months. Jozef Ráž, Minister of Transport (nominated by the Smer party), stated that as a result, earthmoving machinery could appear this year on the three construction sections of the future motorway, where the selection of contractors was not simple. At his Monday press conference, the minister explained that the procurement procedures have now been completed for all three D3 motorway sections; two already have building permits, while the third is expected to receive official approval within a few days.
Ráž also mentioned that according to the plans of the National Motorway Company (NDS), contracts will be signed with the construction companies by the end of September. The tendering process was not without difficulties. Last year, the NDS announced tenders worth more than one billion euros in total for three new D3 sections: an 11.2 km stretch (between Žilina, Brodno and Kysucké Nové Mesto), a 9.6 km section (Kysucké Nové Mesto – Oščadnica), and a 5.3 km section (Oščadnica – Čadca, Bukov), which also includes the second tube of the Horelica tunnel. Two bids were received for the Oščadnica – Čadca section leading to Bukov, with the cheaper—approximately 230 million euros—submitted by a consortium made up of Váhostav, Metrostav and Duna Aszfalt. An appeal against this tender was filed back in March, prompting an ÚVO investigation. By July, the tender for the Kysucké Nové Mesto – Oščadnica section was also concluded after several unsuccessful bidders lodged objections. The winner was Skanska, which came in nearly 46 million euros below expectations and will ultimately build the section for 307 million euros. In July, a further obstacle emerged for the section between Žilina and Kysucké Nové Mesto, with a complaint also filed to the ÚVO. However, last week the office rejected this as well. The contract worth about 399 million euros was won by the consortium led by Váhostav, which was a hundred million euros below expectations. At the beginning of August, a decision was made regarding the fourth objection to the Bukov section. The final investment cost was set at 230 million euros, which is 76 million lower than the initial estimate. The new D3 sections are being realized from European Union funds.
