Faroese contractor with lowest bid loses roadwork contract

A decision by Tórshavn Municipality to reject the lowest bid for a road project in Kaldbak has drawn criticism from the contractor who submitted it, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

Frank Hellisdal, who offered the lowest bid of 1.1 million Danish kroner (excluding VAT) for a 90-metre stretch of road near the Kaldbak town hall, was passed over in favour of a higher bid. The municipality’s technical committee instead awarded the contract to David Nordendal, whose bid of 1.47 million kroner included a fixed completion date of 1 September.

The technical director and municipal engineer argued that Nordendal’s bid should be accepted due to the guaranteed timeline, despite the 350,000-kroner price difference. Hellisdal’s bid did not specify a completion date, though the project documents noted work could begin mid-summer.

The decision followed a heated debate during a municipal council meeting, where Mayor Elsa Berg and committee chairman Berg Robert Dam Jensen clashed over the tender process. The mayor had also requested an external legal review of the case, which was presented during the meeting.

Hellisdal declined to comment further on the decision.