The Contentious-Administrative Court number 2 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife annuls the award of the contract for the provision of the service of management and supply of drinking water in Guimar. In ruling 511/2022, issued on the 4th, it is determined that in the evaluation report of the bids that competed, a score of award sub-criteria was introduced that did not appear in the specifications by which the tender was governed. It is not firm and the Güimarero City Council announces that it will present an appeal.
On June 24, 2021, the Plenary awarded Aqualia the service for 71,034,067 euros and a period of 25 years (more than 2.8 million euros each year). It is the same company that supplies since 1995 to the more than 20,000 inhabitants that the municipality now has. The formalization of the contract took place on November 29, with the signing of the document by the mayor, Gustavo Pérez, and the Aqualia delegate in the Canary Islands, Francisco Blanco, an act attended by the first deputy mayor, Airam Puerta.
The company Global Omnium-Tagua presented the contentious-administrative appeal that gives rise to this situation that forces the procedure for the concession of the water service in Güímar to be rolled back, although both the City Council and the concessionaire have already announced the presentation of the corresponding appeals .
While the Aqualia company was calm in being aware that it is an administrative matter “that is part of our day to day”, Airam Puerta, councilor for Concession Companies and Territorial Policy, stressed that the ruling “is not final” and defended the work carried out by the Contracting Board. “The external technician hired for this file duly justified the criteria followed to assign the assessment of that subjective part of the contest,” he explained.
There are 40 points that were subdivided into five other headings with different scales, but on issues that, Puerta insisted, have a subjective component when evaluating it. As an example, she alluded to how to determine which type of vehicle is more sustainable: electric, hybrid, gas. The judge considers that what was done does not comply with the specifications.
The process of this contest until reaching the signing of the award began in the previous mandate. The specifications were left on the table in the informative commission prior to the plenary session of the award. Then there was a change of mandate. The Contentious-Administrative Court also ordered the Güímar City Council to pay the costs.
