On Sunday evening, February 20, the government of Andorra (Pyrenees) issued a press release on the completion of the acceptance of tender proposals for the construction of the national heliport. The conditions for participation in the tender were published on October 20, the deadline for submission of applications is Friday, February 18.
The terms state that the concession for this new infrastructure includes the design, construction and operation of the facilities, and the tender will be international.
40 business representatives, both from the country and abroad, showed interest in the project, according to a press release. Among them there are operators, airports, construction firms, architectural, engineering and consulting companies.
Tender proposals will be made public on 24 February.
The construction of a heliport in the country (as well as the construction of an airport in Andorra) is a project with a long history and not predictable. Back in 2017, the minister of Territories of Andorra, Jordi Torres Falcó, signed an agreement with the mayor of Encamp, Jordi Torres Arauz, on the transfer of a land plot located in Encamp for this project. On this occasion, a press conference was organized, specific figures and deadlines were announced – a heliport worth 2 million euros was to be built in 2019.
It should be noted that Andorra already has a negative experience of holding international tenders. In 2019, the results of an international tender with the participation of four international companies – Casinos Austria, Genting Group, Partouche France and Grupo CIRSA – for the construction of a casino in the country ended in a scandal and a collective lawsuit against the government of Andorra.
Recalling that the company of Andorra, Jocs SA, won this tender. According to international participants, the company could not win in a fair fight, as its investment program did not meet the requirements of the tender. Representatives of the companies then complained that the Andorrans used their proposals to implement this project on their basis by themselves. Representatives of the government of Andorra did not comment on the issues of litigation and the court’s decision. At the same time, recently The head of the Government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, said in the program “Els matins” of the TV3 channel that he does not want to “turn Andorra into Las Vegas.”
