New metro line construction delayed by tender complaint

The City of Prague has been forced to put off signing a contract for the construction of the first portion of the new metro line between Pankrac and Olbrachtova by the anti-monopoly office. It cancelled a previous ruling that it would have only until July 21 to reach a decision on an objection to the outcome of a tender for the job that was filed by the contractor Eurovia, which lost. The city-owned investor DPP isn't worried by the development, claiming it's a normal step in cases where the competition regulator is unable to reach a decision with sufficient speed. Eurovia's appeal, which ran to 131 pages, including charges that the tender was written in ways that gave the ultimate winner, Metrostav and its subcontractor Subterra and unfair advantage. Among these advantages were conditions such as that the winning team had to have eight top managers who spoke Czech.