Portuguese Accounts Court throws road projects into disarray

5 November 2009

The turf war between road concessionaire Estradas de Portugal (EP) and the Portuguese Accounts Court – the independent state body responsible for auditing major public works - has escalated after the Court refused to grant a ratifying visa in a preliminary decision on the Transmontana and Douro Interior road concessions. EP had argued that the road projects did not need the ratification of the Accounts Court because it is independent of the state as an SA, but the Court has ruled the projects fall within its jurisdiction.

The Court is rejecting the visas on a legal rather than economic issue, stating that because there were changes to the specification of the projects between indicative bids and the BAFO stage, however slight, the BAFO stage should not have restricted the bidding field to two competitors on competition grounds.

The consequence of the Court's decision means that the drawdown schedule for both projects ...

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