The results of the tender are expected before the end of this month.

Four of the consortia submitted their final bids at the end of February. The fifth is made up of Estonian firms and headed by a French company.

The Rail Baltica tender has attracted some of the biggest names in construction worldwide.

Tenders for two stretches of rail line are to be awarded. The first is from Tallinn to Pärnu. The second is from Pärnu onward to the border with Latvia.

The winning bids could be revealed within a couple of weeks. This would end a tender process which has been going on for nearly five months so far.

European Commission rules Rail Baltica must be running by end of 2030

While the Rail Baltica project has seen its fair share of delays, the European Commission requires trains to be running from Tallinn to Poland by the end of 2030.

The bidding company which gets the highest overall score in the tender process will get to build the bulk of the Estonian section of the line. This will be from the Ülemiste terminal to the southwestern city of Pärnu.

The winning bidder will also be required to design and construct the embankment between Pärnu and Tootsi, to the north.

This section's estimated cost, excluding construction materials, stands at €394 million.

The second-place consortium will be awarded the tender for the section between Pärnu and Ikla, on the Estonian-Latvian border.

Building this stretch will essentially mean starting from scratch. This includes design, obtaining all necessary permits, and constructing embankments, viaducts, and tracks.

The southern section's estimated cost, excluding materials, is €332 million.
With materials included, the two projects together could exceed €900 million.

No company is bidding alone but rather as a consortium. One of these, Verston, has stood out in that its consortium consists solely of local Estonian firms.
Each consortium comprises at least four companies, wherever they are from.

Verston and its competitors, Vinci Construction Geoinfrastructure, Bouygues Travaux Publics, GRK Group and Leonhard Weiss, submitted their final bids at the end of last month. They had been shortlisted just before Christmas.

Anvar Salomets, CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia, said the process had gone well.

"From the client's perspective, this is undoubtedly a success, as there are no mediocre bidders—everyone is excellent," Salomets said.

This has made both the tender and the resulting way of working unique.

Winning bidders will not only be contractors but partners to Rail Baltic Estonia. In practical terms, this means that work will be carried out in a shared office space. This space will be set up by the winning consortiums.

Salomets said that this rationale requires a shift in mindset from all stakeholders. "But as a model, it is the only viable option under the current circumstances," he added.

"The pressure on both schedule and budget demands flexibility and strong contractors who can simultaneously reassess technical solutions, make adjustments, and mobilize construction activities, all at high speed," Salomets went on.

In the initial round, bidders were required to give an outline of their teams. They had to explain key personnel's roles and their past successful projects.
Even more significant is the project plan — how they intended to keep the complex process on schedule, despite the thousands of moving variables.
Four of the winners, excluding Verston, were picked just before Christmas time.

The tender's second phase began right after the winter break. This phase saw negotiations about a possible contract involving all four consortia.
Development workshops were held last month with each of them.

"Real-life scenarios were examined, and bidders were evaluated on how well they could solve them," Salomets said about the workshops.
"Given the budget and schedule pressures on the project, these workshops focused specifically on concrete cases."

The bidders do not know their scores yet, though the tender committee is already calculating these.

The winning bid will be that which scored highest, with the division of points being: Up to 30 percent on project management and collaboration capabilities. 15 percent on the project plan. A further up to 15 percent for the resolution of case studies. And 10 percent for the project team description.

The remainder, around 30 percent, relates to the wage component, i.e., the bidder's price tag.

Salomets stressed that this does not equate to the final construction cost. That will be determined later, based on market prices and the client's budget.
The proposed remuneration consists of the bidder's general expenses and expected profit margin.

These figures had to be submitted by February 28 and are now known, Salomets added. He noted that none of the bids have come with too high of a price tag at this point.

"At this stage, nothing needs to be ruled out due to budget constraints. No bids have to be rejected," he said.

Bidders submitted their pricing figures without being aware of the quality scores they had received. This was done to prevent any strategic maneuvering.
More detailed score tables will be published after the procurement process concludes, Salomets added.

Consortia led by big-name firms

French company Bouygues Travaux Publics was involved in constructing the world's longest bridge connecting Hong Kong and China.

The German family-owned firm Leonhard Weiss and the Finnish-founded GRK Group both have a strong pedigree in rail construction.

Vinci Construction Geoinfrastructure has projects ranging from high-speed rail in the U.K. to a hydroelectric dam in Senegal under its belt.

The Estonia-based Verston's recent completed projects include Tallinn's Reidi tee and the Sopi-Tootsi wind farm in Pärnu County.

Estonian firms are also represented within the other four groups.

Bouygues Travaux Publics has partnered with KMG Infra. Leonhard Weiss with INF Infra, part of the Infortar Group.

GRK is bidding with Merko, while Vinci Construction Geoinfrastructure includes Trev-2 Group among its partners.

A client can decide at any moment to leave out certain tasks or change aspects of the project as initially planned.

To meet the European Commission's 2030 deadline, all will need to proceed smoothly over the next five years. This means a scenario where potential disputes might emerge is under scrutiny.

"There is always a risk of disputes, especially given the large sums involved," Salomets noted.

He stressed that the entire procurement process has been made as transparent as possible for all parties.

"The entire evaluation process is fully traceable," Salomets said.
"Additionally, the large number of tender committee members has allowed for a diversity of opinions."

Also, tender rules include a component for bonuses to be paid in cases where work is completed ahead of schedule and/or below budget.

The results of the procurement process should be revealed by Friday, March 21. However, Salomets noted that the decision could come a few days either side of that date.

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