Firm claims DAA broke EU directive on public contracts

AN ENGINEERING company has alleged the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) breached EU directives on public law contracts in the manner in which it awarded another company a contract valued at up to €50 million for a baggage-handling system at Dublin airport.

Inter-Roller Engineering Ltd, with registered offices in Singapore, has challenged the procedures operated by the DAA that led to a decision on May 12th last to award the contract, with an estimated value of between €45 million and €50 million, to Siemens.

The contract is for the design and operation of a baggage handling system to cater for up to 15 million passengers when terminal two opens at Dublin airport.

The proceedings were admitted to the list of the Commercial Court yesterday by Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan.

In its action, Inter-Roller is seeking declarations that it submitted the most economically advantageous tender for the design and operation of the baggage handling system and that the DAA had failed to give adequate reasons for the decision to award the contract to Siemens.

It alleges the DAA failed to treat all tenders equally or to comply with the principles of non-discrimination and had failed to select the successful tenderer on the basis of the criteria specified by the DAA.

The DAA, it is alleged, wrongfully concluded that Inter-Roller had submitted a non-compliant tender and wrongfully required Inter-Roller to re-tender in November 2007. It claims that its tender was compliant but other tenders received by the DAA were non-compliant. In those circumstances, it claims the DAA was obliged to reject the other tenders and award the contract to Inter-Roller.

Inter-Roller is also seeking damages for alleged breach of its legitimate expectation not to reconduct a tender process when, it is claimed, it had submitted a fully compliant tender.

It also alleges breaches of an EU directive related to the award of contracts by utility undertakings and, if necessary, is seeking to have the matter referred to the European Court of Justice.