EU funding amounting to Lm790,000, allocated for the construction of Mnajdra and Hagar Qim protective coverings might be lost due to a delay in issuing a fresh call for bids.

As reported in The Malta Independent on Sunday last September, three companies submitted a bid for the manufacture and construction of two protective shelters for the Mnajdra and Hagar Qim Temples.

Of these, two bidders – CENO TEC from Germany and Canobbio Spa from Italy – qualified technically for the opening of prices.

CENO TEC submitted a bid worth Lm1,537,732 excluding VAT and Canobbio Spa submitted Lm987,000 excluding VAT.

However, the capital expenditure for the project, which is funded under the European Structural Funds Programme 2004–2006, is estimated to be Lm790,000 excluding VAT.

The offer made by Canobbio Spa is already 25 per cent higher than the original estimate while that made by CENO TEC is 94.6 per cent higher.

Experts in the field explained that Heritage Malta might have underestimated the cost possibly due to the size of the project since it is the first of its kind, or because both companies did not fully understand the specifications and make the necessary allowances.

However, according to the procurement regulations, both offers cannot be considered further and a fresh call for tenders is most likely to take place – a decision that can only be taken by the Contracts Committee in the Department of Contracts.

Furthermore, if there is another call for tenders the completion date will move to 2008, as opposed to the deadline clearly stated in the tender document – 15 December 2007. However, experts said it is difficult to believe that the project will be completed by December 2007 and within the time frame stipulated by the EU, which might result in the loss of the Lm790,000.

Although the adjudication was based on Most Economical Advantageous Tender (MEAT), the technical marks of each bidder were not made public. In this tender, 90 per cent was allocated to technical and 10 per cent to price.

Four months have passed since the tender’s closing date yet still no decision has been taken.

The project involves a specialised textile membrane technology. The work for each temple will consist of two light, arched, structural, steel tubular parallel frameworks pivoted at both ends on a foundation. A 3-D curved stretched textile membrane will cover the framework and the whole steel structure and membrane will be held in place by tensile wire ropes anchored to the ground using a special anchoring system grouted in a borehole.