A cheap bid, but not necessarily a cheerful one

AS expected, Alicante City Hall turned down developer Enrique Ortiz’s tender for the Environment Observatory contract.

Ortiz’s tender for completing the unfinished building was dangerously low, council specialists said when his bid arrived.

Ortiz planned to charge €516,019 to finish the building which was 21 per cent lower than the €635,000 contract and would have left him with a 1 per cent profit margin.

Although City Hall is theoretically obliged to accept the lowest tender, Ortiz’s unrealistic price would, according to City Hall, generate problems if the project experienced “even a minimal economic deviation.”

These problems could hold up work which, if not finished before the end of the year, would mean losing the €800,000 that Brussels had provided for the project.

“City Hall cannot afford any delays or a subsequent increase in the cost,” explained Environment Councillor Victor Dominguez.

The developer lodged an appeal against the decision to exclude his tender from the nine submitted to City Hall, which it dismissed.

The second-lowest bid came from Alicante construction company Coinger – now in first place – whose 17 per cent reduction was not considered unrealistically low.