A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Arkad Engineering – alongside its Milan-based joint venture with Swiss-Swedish ABB – has been confirmed as the contractor for a $1.6bn pipeline carrying Russian gas across Bulgaria, state network operator Bulgartransgaz announced.
According to a statement, the group beat out two other associations to win the project. These include DZZD Consortium Gas Development and Expansion in Bulgaria, which is made up of Italy’s Consorzio Varna 1 and the Bulgarian branch of Luxembourg-registered Completions Development Association.
Also pipped to win the contract was a tie-up of ОТ Industries Fovallkozo Zrt. and OT Industries, KVV Kivitelezo Zrt.
Bulgartransgaz said the winning consortium “had offered the most economically advantageous tender” in line with the awarding criterion announced beforehand “optimal correlation quality [and] price”.
READ: UAE-US eye synchronised standards for construction, oil and gas sectors
The statement added: “The selection of a contractor has been made by applying the indicators from a complex evaluation methodology, laid down by Bulgartransgaz.”
The confirmation comes just days after Reuters reported that the Arkad-led consortium had offered the lowest bid to build the 474km pipeline from the Balkan country’s southern border near Turkey to its western border around Serbia.
Vladimir Malinov, chief executive officer of Bulgartransgaz, was reported to have said the Saudi consortium’s bid was close to its own cost estimates.
Construction Week In Focus | S02E23: Oil and gas construction
