Contract for high-speed railway may exclude participation of national companies
20:41
The tender for designing and building the first section of Poland s high speed rail line is structured in a way that makes it almost impossible for domestic firms to compete on their own. Industry representatives say this is a missed chance to build national construction champions. CPK argues the bar is set high to avoid failure at the start of such a landmark project.
The prequalification rules require 12 references worth at least PLN 400 mln net each, which strongly favors large international groups. Even road building experience is scored highly, while some rail specific experience counts less. Polish firms may still join as subcontractors or in consortia, but critics say that limits their ability to build real competence and capture margins. CPK says more opportunities will come in later tenders.
(wnp.pl)
