First road construction projects up for international tender

Road construction companies across Europe will be able to vie for two local tenders, worth Lm4 million, issued by the Department of Contracts on Friday.

The contracts, published concurrently in the Government Gazette and the Official Journal of the European Union, are the first ever Europe-wide road reconstruction tenders issued by the Maltese Government.

The two projects, one to rebuild the road linking the Peace Lab in Hal Far to Malta Freeport and the other the road linking Victoria to San Lawrenz in Gozo, will be financed under structural funds through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the period between 2004 and 2006.

The two roads will be rebuilt in parallel, starting in July and are scheduled to be completed in November 2006.

The first tender, worth Lm1.92 million, is for the reconstruction of the three-kilometre Hal Far Phase III, which picks up from where Phases I and II, which were completed between 1998 and 2002, left off.

The second, worth Lm2 million, is for the reconstruction of the 3.7-km road in Gozo.

A prior information notice, issued last October, generated a significant amount of interest in the two tenders. The deadline for tender submissions is March 10.

A third tender for a road-related project, also funded under the ERDF, was issued last October and closed on December 14. This related to the provision of professional and technical services for the reconstruction of the Manwel Dimech viaducts on the Regional Road.

The tender sanctioned the appointment of a bridge engineer who would carry out further detailed inspection and testing in accordance to DIN 1076: 199-11, the international construction standard, carry out the necessary design and detailing of proposals for the strengthening of the bridges, prepare tender documents and supervise the work carried out.

All three projects were approved by Cabinet last August to benefit from the EU's structural funds.