The way was opened for the construction of the Solea-Marathasa heliport in the community of Linos, at a cost of approximately €5,079,000 including VAT.
One of the main objectives of the construction of the heliport is its use by helicopters for extinguishing purposes, mainly forest or other large fires, but also to rescue people if necessary.
The decision to build a heliport in LinoS was taken after the deadly fire in Solia in 2016, which resulted in the death of two people as well as the destruction of forest land covering an area of about 15 square kilometers.
The green light for the construction of the heliport was given after the rejection of an appeal by the Tender Review Authority, where a company had resorted that was excluded on the grounds that it submitted an offer that was judged to be "abnormally low".
This bid was 22% lower than the estimated value of the project, which was finally awarded to the company IACOVOU BROTHERS (CONSTRUCTIONS) LTD, for an amount of €4,268,000, which exceeds €5 million when VAT is added. The decision of the Tender Review Authority also states the following: "We do not forget that the criterion for a tender to be characterized as abnormally low is whether the difference between the price of the tender and the estimated value is such that, in relation to the other data, it creates doubts in the Contracting Authority about the seriousness of the tender."
The bid of the company "Iakovou Brothers" (to which the contract was awarded) was also 5% lower than the estimated value of the project, but the deviation was not considered so large as to raise the issue of an "abnormally low" tender. The "abnormally low" bid is usually considered when it deviates downwards, beyond 20%. With the same reasoning, the possibility of an "unusually high" bid is examined, when it is found that it is 20% higher than the estimated value of the project.
It is noted that the value of the project was estimated at €4.5 million.
When the tender was announced, three bids had been submitted, namely that of the company that appealed to the Tender Review Authority for the amount of €3,599,000, that of "Iakovou Brothers" for €4,268,000.00 and that of a third company for the amount of €4,395,000, excluding VAT. However, the latter did not respond to the clarifications requested, so it was excluded.
The Review Authority seems to be convinced that the company that appealed to it submitted an "abnormally low" tender because it calculated that the concrete (at the heliport) would cover 3,312 square meters (sq.m.) instead of the 11,000 sq.m. that it will actually be.
The construction duration is 14 months, while the defect and maintenance liability period was set at the first 12 years.
