Three interested parties want to build a new cable car to Sněžka

Rychnov nad Kněžnou - Offers for the construction of a new cable car to the highest Czech mountain Sněžka were submitted today according to a reliable source to ČTK by construction firms Chládek and Tintěra Pardubice, Eurovia CS, and BAK construction company. The source informed ČTK after the submission of competitive offers today. They did not wish to disclose their name. The same entities that applied in the first, later canceled tender submitted offers.
     The lowest price was offered by the Trutnov company BAK, at 298.85 million crowns excluding VAT. BAK entered the competition in a consortium with the cable car company Leitner. Eurovia CS submitted a bid with a price of 326.96 million crowns excluding VAT in a consortium with the cable car company Doppelmayr and the company Kers. Chládek and Tintěra offered a price of 327.46 million crowns excluding VAT according to the source of ČTK.
     The managing director of the Rychnov company Dabona, which is organizing the competition for the town of Pec pod Sněžkou, refused to comment on the information to ČTK. "All entities that submitted offers met the qualifying requirements and proceed to the next evaluation," said only the managing director of Dabona, Drahoslav Chudoba.
     The offers will now be assessed by a committee that should recommend the most suitable offer to the town of Pec pod Sněžkou. The main criterion for determining the ranking is price, which has a weight of 80 percent in the assessment. Ten percent each is assigned to the maturity of invoices and the amount of the contractual penalty in case of failure to meet the construction deadline. The winner of the tender could be announced by the end of June. Construction should begin on September 1.
     The estimated value of the construction stated in the competition's terms is 330 million crowns excluding VAT, and the town of Pec pod Sněžkou has a European grant of 230 million for the construction.
     The current competition is the second in a row. The original tender, which was announced last year, was canceled by the town due to the disqualification of all three applicants in January. For the current tender, the town simplified the competition's conditions. However, compared to the original schedule, the deadline for completing the cable car has been postponed by nearly a year to the end of March 2014.
     It is expected that the construction of the cable car will be very challenging. The majority of the route is in sloping and difficult-to-access terrain, moreover in the strictly protected area of the Krkonošsko National Park. A significant part of the work will be done using helicopters, whose operation is weather-dependent.
     Work should begin with tasks that do not require shutting down the cable car. The existing cable car, which is over 60 years old, could therefore remain operational until autumn 2012. The main work would take place in 2013. The cable car would go into testing in spring 2014.
     The new cable car will have four-seat cabins instead of the current open seats for two passengers. The lower station will move closer to the parking lot at the Lesovna lodge. The intermediate station on Růžová hora and the upper station on Sněžka will remain in their current locations. The hourly capacity of the cable car will remain at 250 people. However, the new cable car will be more resistant to wind. Around 100,000 tourists will ascend to the summit by the cable car each year.