Montenegro’s Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures has upheld an appeal by Bemax and overturned the Ministry of Public Works’ selection of a preferred bidder for the Hajla–Štedim ski-centre base station project. The ruling requires the ministry to re-examine the offers and make a new selection, but does not cancel the procurement or automatically disqualify the consortium previously chosen.
The tender covers design, construction and equipment for a base station at the ski-centre site in Rožaje. The ministry selected the Indel inženjering–TOFI consortium on 4 August 2026. Bemax, a company based in Podgorica, had submitted an offer that was assessed as compliant but ranked second, and filed its appeal on 14 August.
The tender documents were published on 3 March 2026. In its appeal, Bemax raised concerns about irregularities in the examination and evaluation of offers, the application of substantive law and the completeness of the facts established during the process. The commission issued its decision on 26 October 2026.
Ministry must repeat bid assessment
The commission’s 34-page ruling reviewed whether the offers met the tender requirements, including the selected consortium’s professional and technical capacity and the division of work among its members. It also examined records on the qualifications and engagement of responsible designers and engineers, and whether the consortium could rely on the professional capacity of other business entities.
The ruling identified shortcomings in the ministry’s checks on whether consortium members had the professional and technical ability to carry out their assigned work, whether qualified personnel were engaged and whether the required licences were held. The commission also found that the ministry had not fully checked circumstances relevant to the selected offer’s compliance, including possible grounds for the consortium’s mandatory exclusion from the procurement.
Because the facts had not been fully established, the commission concluded that the ministry’s selection decision could not stand. It ordered the ministry to correct the identified irregularities within 15 days of publication of the ruling and to report the steps taken within three days of completing that work. After reviewing and evaluating the offers again, the ministry must issue a new decision in line with the law and the commission’s findings.
The ruling does not itself determine which bidder will win the tender. The ministry must establish whether the offers meet the legal and tender requirements, including those relating to the consortium’s capacity and the qualifications of its personnel, before making its next selection.
Appeal fee refund and court challenge
The commission also ordered the return to Bemax of the 20,000 euros it paid for the appeal procedure. The refund must be made within 15 days after the ruling becomes final.
A challenge to the commission’s decision may be filed with the Administrative Court of Montenegro within 20 days of its publication on the Electronic Public Procurement System. The ministry’s next decision on the preferred bidder will follow its renewed assessment of the offers and the correction of the deficiencies identified by the commission.
