Summary of key messages:

• Škoda Transtech disagrees with parts of the Market Court’s decision and already appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland; at the same time, seeks a suspension of the signing and execution of the contract, until the case is finally resolved.
• The company stands firmly behind the full compliance of its bid and safety of its tram solution for Helsinki and disagrees with any statements suggesting otherwise.
• Škoda Transtech’s bid met all requirements; all clarifications provided during the tender process were legitimate, beneficial to the contracting authority, and did not alter the substance of the bid.
• The company considers its exclusion from the tender to be the result of overly formalistic interpretation of technical details.

Škoda Transtech welcomes that the Market Court dismissed as exclusion grounds all unfounded allegations that Škoda Transtech had attempted to improperly influence the course of the tender

 

“The Market Court assessed the technical part of Škoda Transtech’s bid in a purely formalistic manner, effectively turning our proactive and cooperative approach towards the contracting authority against us as alleged material change of the bid and thereby concluded on its non-compliance with the technical requirements of the tender,” said Petr Novotný, CEO of Škoda Group.

 

Škoda Transtech participated in the tender for the supply of 183 trams for the capital city of Helsinki, launched by Helsinki Metropolitan Area Transport. The dispute reached the Market Court after the contracting authority decided to exclude the company from the tender while simultaneously disseminating unsubstantiated allegations about Škoda Transtech.

 

The parameters of Škoda Transtech’s offered technical solution are fully compliant with the tender requirements

According to Škoda Transtech, the Market Court based its decision on a formalistic interpretation of the technical part of Škoda Transtech’s bid that does not reflect either the substance of the bid or the actual technical parameters of the proposed solution. These are fully in line with the requirements of the tender documentation.

 

“This decision deeply concerns us, and we consider it a dangerous precedent. If technically sound and functional solutions can be excluded on the basis of an ambiguous and formalistic interpretation of details and any explanation provided can be considered as material change of the bid, the very fairness of public procurement in Europe is at risk – and ultimately it is the travelling public who will pay the price. The decision disregards the quality of the offered technical solution and what will be the impact on the travellers. We disagree with such an approach and will vigorously defend ourselves against it,” added Petr Novotný.

 

Škoda Transtech firmly rejects any suggestion that its technical solution raises safety concerns or risks. Such claims are not supported by the bid or by the technical parameters and damage the reputation of Škoda products, which transport millions of passengers worldwide every day.

 

“We are disappointed. We submitted a competitive bid and a solution that would have represented a significant technological advancement in the operation and safety of tram transport in Helsinki. Our goal was to succeed in a fair and transparent procurement process. We appealed the Market Court’s decision and, at the same time, requested an interim measure to prevent the contract from being awarded until a final decision is made,” said Zdeněk Sváta, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Škoda Transtech and COO of Škoda Group.

 

Škoda Transtech is one of the key industrial employers in the Kainuu region of Finland. At its production facility in Otanmäki, the company directly employs around 600 people, while the wider impact of its operations extends to nearly 2,000 people through employees’ families and the local community. The company therefore plays an important role in maintaining industrial expertise, economic activity, and long-term employment opportunities in the region.

 

Further serious concerns regarding the fairness of the tender procedure

Škoda Transtech is surprised how the irregularities and ambiguities of the entire tender procedure were overseen as the Market Court decided to rather focus on technical details. The contracting authority’s conduct of the procurement procedure raises serious questions about its overall fairness. These include, in particular, material changes to the evaluation criteria during different stages of the procedure, which, according to the company, were neither sufficiently reviewed nor taken into account by the Market Court.

 

“By altering the evaluation criteria just before the final phase of the procurement process the contracting authority de facto redesigned the procurement. Despite such surprising turn, the contracting authority refused to extend the deadline for submission of the final bid. After submission of the final bids, instead of real evaluation, it rather focused on finding arguments why and how to exclude the domestic participant offering trams manufactured in Finland and used every formalistic marginal detail for such purpose. If this is not against procurement laws is what we want to find out in the appeal proceeding before the Supreme Administrative Court”, Sváta says.

 

Moreover, since the selection of Stadler’s offer by the contracting authority is conditional to an approval by the city councils of Helsinki and Vantaa to increase the budget allocated to this procurement, this clearly suggests that the price offered by Stadler is higher than such allocated budget, and thereby also higher than the price offered by Škoda Transtech.

 

For these reasons as well, Škoda Transtech seeks a full review of the case before the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland and, as noted above, requested a suspension of the signing and execution of the contract until a final decision is reached.