Ecuador relaunches Quito metro tender

Metro de Quito relaunched the process for the selection of the international company that will operate Ecuador’s first metro line, which demanded US$2bn.

Offers can now be submitted until August 19.

The company’s operations manager, Roberto Custode, told a press conference that the consortium made up of the French company Transdev and Metro de Medellín, which won the previous tender launched in March, did not specify by how much annual costs would rise because of inflation.

Any cost increase was to be determined at year-end in line with inflation, "which is a practice that is carried out in several countries but that is not contemplated by Ecuadoran legislation," Custode said.

The tender documents have not been modified.

According to the new schedule, contract signing is planned for late September or early October.

Despite the new deadlines, authorities aim for the start of commercial operation as originally planned. “The process has not stopped. The schedule that has been proposed for the operation to start in December is not affected,” Quito mayor Santiago Guarderas said.

UK-based NGO Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) will continue to monitor the process as an international observer.

Work on the line is practically finished.