FCC mulls challenging the decision of the Canary Islands High Court (TSJC) to annul the award of the construction works of the Insular Ring in Tenerife, as informed by market sources to Europa Press.
In 2019, FCC secured this project on appeal, after the Administrative Tribunal of Public Contracts ruled in its favour and annulled the initial award to OHLA, citing the latter’s “recklessly low bid.”
However, five years after commencing and with significant progress made by FCC following the initial award by the Canary Islands Government, the TSJC has upheld the appeal filed by OHLA, thus annulling the award to FCC and validating the initial decision of the regional government to grant the works to OHLA.
In its initial appeal, FCC argued that its competitor’s bid did not comply with the tender specifications, being too low and therefore “reckless”, mainly because the actual cost of the workers on the project was lower than what was offered, resulting in a recklessly low bid based on mathematical calculations.
FCC argued that the estimated percentage of Social Security contributions was lower than legally required or did not take into account hazard pay, night shifts, or end-of-contract compensation for temporary workers, as well as compensation or allowances for permanent staff.
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The works were being carried out by FCC in consortium with Syocsa-Inarsa and El Silbo for 240 million Euros, covering over 11 kilometers of roads between El Tanque and Santiago del Teide, including the Erjos tunnel, the largest in the Canary Islands at 5.1 kilometers and one of the largest in Spain.
