Faroese municipality overrides committee recommendation to award sauna contract

A municipal committee in Tórshavn recommended awarding a public sauna contract to the small company Sauna Dypp after it scored highest in the bidding process, but city politicians overruled the decision in favor of rival bidder Saunagos, Faroese public broadcaster KVF reports.

The evaluation committee—comprising the city manager, technical director, harbor master, and city architect—unanimously determined that Sauna Dypp’s proposal met the criteria more effectively. Under the tender terms, the winning bidder would secure a lease agreement until January 1, 2029, with an annual fee of 5,000 krona for waterfront use and 42 krona per square meter of land.

Scoring broke down as follows: 20% weighted to reliability, 20% to cost, 30% to architectural value, 20% to year-round accessibility, and 10% to operational capacity. Sauna Dypp outscored Saunagos in the final assessment.

Despite the committee’s recommendation, the city’s building and planning board voted on September 1 to reject Sauna Dypp’s bid and instead award the contract to Saunagos. Legal counsel Øssur Patursson later advised in a September 23 memo that the decision lacked justifiable grounds and risked exposing the municipality to compensation claims from Sauna Dypp. He urged reinstating the original winner or, if reassessed, ensuring transparent and objective evaluation criteria free from political influence.

On September 29, the board—led by members Anja Weyhe, Bergur Robert Dam Jensen, Birgir Nielsen, and Kári Johansen—again voted to dismiss Sauna Dypp’s bid and reopen the tender process. Sauna Dypp has since filed a 1.9 million krona claim against the municipality for lost revenue.