Background and Relevance
The Agencia Reguladora del Transporte Ferroviario (ARTF), led by Andrés Lajous, has agreed to conduct a third clarification meeting on August 7th as part of an international bidding process for purchasing 15 passenger trains with a capacity of 700 seats. These trains will serve the Mexico-Pachuca route.
Bidding Process Adjustments
The ARTF received approval from the General Directorate of Normativity of Public Contracts under the Secretariat Against Corruption and Good Governance to modify the evaluation criteria percentages. The technical proposal will now account for 65%, while the economic proposal will represent 35%. This adjustment is due to the complexity of the procedure.
Extended Submission Deadline
The high number of questions from interested companies (CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, CAF México, and Alstom Ferroviaria México) and the updated information they provided led to an extension of the technical and economic proposal submission deadline from August 18th to August 25th.
Firm Deadline and Challenges
Despite the extended deadline, the announcement of the winning bid remains on August 29th. This timeline might be challenging to meet, as the submitted offers will contain extensive documentation requiring thorough analysis to select the winner.
National Content and Preview
One recurring question from Chinese-origin manufacturers pertains to the national content of the trains. This detail is specified in Annex 12 of the documents disseminated on the ComprasMX platform.
The annex requires bidders to declare that the acquired goods will be “produced in the United Mexican States and will have a national content of at least 55%.”
Alstom’s Request and Response
Among over 500 questions from the second clarification meeting, Alstom requested that the advance payment to the winning bidder be 30%, instead of the initially planned 20%. This request stems from significant startup costs, including material purchases for which advances are needed.
The ARTF responded negatively to this request.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the purpose of the third clarification meeting? The ARTF agreed to hold a third clarification meeting on August 7th to address questions from interested companies regarding the international bidding process for purchasing 15 passenger trains.
- What changes were made to the evaluation criteria? The technical proposal now accounts for 65% of the evaluation, while the economic proposal represents 35%, due to the complexity of the procedure.
- Why was the submission deadline extended? The high number of questions from interested companies and updated information they provided led to an extension of the technical and economic proposal submission deadline from August 18th to August 25th.
- What is the new announcement date for the winning bid? The ARTF plans to announce the winning bid on August 29th, despite potential challenges due to extensive documentation in submitted offers.
- What is the national content requirement for the trains? According to Annex 12 of the disseminated documents, the acquired goods must be produced in Mexico and have a national content of at least 55%.
- Did Alstom’s request for a higher advance payment get approved? No, the ARTF responded negatively to Alstom’s request for a 30% advance payment instead of the initially planned 20%.
