According to Svet, one of the key conditions included in the construction procurement for the renovation of Central Tallinn's Pronksi tänav and Jõe tänav was that at least one lane of traffic each way must remain accessible throughout construction.

"At the same time, exceptions will be permitted for short-term full closures approved by Tallinn Transport Department," he told ERR. "The same conditions are laid out in the procurement contract, and the builder must fulfill these conditions."

He also confirmed that, contrary to questions raised in the media, the conditions of the procurement have not been changed during the course of the procurement process.

The deputy mayor of Estonia's capital city claims that the city considers the current ongoing full closure of Pronksi tänav, which as of Thursday has been closed for 17 days straight, to be a "short-term full closure."

"Pronksi tänav has been closed for reconstruction since October 10," he said. "We have treated this as an exceptional short-term full closure. Before the end of the week, we'll discuss with the builder from what date they'll be able to ensure 1+1-lane access as stated in the procurement contract."

He did acknowledge that neither the conditions of the procurement nor the procurement contract stipulated explicitly how long of a period could be considered a "short-term" full closure, "and now this must be discussed with the builder as soon as possible."

Daily: TREV-2 board chair suspected change in conditions

Daily Eesti Päevaleht (EPL) reported Wednesday that according to Sven Pertens, chairman of the board of road builder TREV-2 Grupp, the conditions of the procurement for the reconstruction of Tallinn's Pronksi tänav and Jõe tänav stipulated that one lane of traffic each way must remain open during construction.

As Pronksi tänav is nonetheless entirely closed to traffic, Pertens suspected that the city may have changed the conditions of the procurement, thus placing companies that had participated in the procurement and companies to withdraw due to the conditions of the procurement in unequal positions, which is prohibited.

The renovation of Jõe tänav and Pronksi tänav in Central Tallinn is slated to cost €14.3 million. Construction will be carried out by the procurement-winning consortium consisting of AS KE Infra and OÜ Viamer Grupp.

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