Architects and engineers criticize awarding contracts based solely on price

Prague - Architects, engineers, and representatives of local government have joined the criticism of the public procurement law. They are bothered by the selection of winners based solely on the lowest price without evaluating additional criteria. Representatives of the Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers and Technicians Active in Construction (ČKAIT), the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA), and the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic stated this at a press conference today.
    "We are getting into a situation where competitions are held for the lowest price not only for construction contracts but also for tenders for project work. We are finding that this has a completely devastating impact on the entire sector," stated ČKA Chairman Ivan Plicka. According to him, there must be certain fair prices for projects that will guarantee that the project will turn out well.
    Public procurement contracting authorities are said to evaluate bids based on price due to fears of criminal prosecution if they decide on a different winner. "It is very hard to justify excluding such a bid (with the lowest price - note by ČTK)," noted Zdeněk Mandík, head of the legislative and legal department of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic.
    According to Plicka, this is absurd. "You cannot choose the soloist of the National Opera solely based on the lowest salary. But that is exactly what is happening day in and day out in our profession," illustrated the current state of affairs by ČKA Chairman Plicka.
    According to representatives of the professional chambers, the current situation and the chase for the lowest price lead to a significant decline in the quality of construction work. "Our chambers have reached a state where they are unable to guarantee the standard of professional performance," Plicka warned, who wants to work together with ČKAIT to develop a manual for public procurement.
    The "necessity" to choose the winners of tenders based on the offered price is among the most criticized points of the current public procurement law. Due to prompts from the professional public, the Ministry for Regional Development prepared a so-called technical amendment to the law, which was to take effect from January 1, 2015. This aims to make it easier for contracting authorities to utilize more criteria when evaluating bids in tenders, rather than focusing solely on the lowest price. It allows for more consideration of the experience and prior practice of the bidder.
    However, the legislative norm became stalled during discussion in the Chamber of Deputies. Members want to add their own amendments, such as raising the limit for so-called additional work from the current 20% to 50%. This would practically mean that the price of the public contract could increase by up to half of the contracted price. For this reason, Minister for Regional Development Karla Šlechtová has already admitted that the amendment will not take effect at the beginning of the new year but most likely not until April 2015.