Zagreb has cancelled a 40 million euro tender for remote water meter reading

HRT (Hrvatska radiotelevizija)State / PublicCenterNov 2

The City of Zagreb has cancelled a 40 million euro tender intended to procure devices for remote water meter reading. The decision, published in the Electronic Public Procurement Gazette, cites significant financial losses at the city’s water utility, which reduced its investment plan after September, leaving approximately 17 million euros available for new projects this year. Although the utility plans to take on long-term debt, funds will be restricted to infrastructure construction, energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources rather than this specific procurement. The tender was conducted by the city on behalf of the utility, with funding secured for 2025; in July of that year, the offer from local firm IKOM was selected over A1 Croatia, whose bid was rejected. A1 Croatia appealed to the State Commission for Control of Public Procurement Procedures (DKOM), which ruled in March of this year that the selection process was invalid because the city failed to demonstrate that equipment samples from all bidders were tested under equal conditions. The commission ordered the city to pay A1 Croatia 66,360 euros in legal costs, a ruling upheld by the High Administrative Court in September after IKOM’s appeal was dismissed, leading the city to cancel the entire procedure shortly thereafter.

Bias read (Center): The report relies exclusively on official administrative records and court rulings, presenting the cancellation as a procedural outcome driven by budget constraints and legal non-compliance without attributing fault to any political actor.

N1 HrvatskaIndependentCenterNov 2

The City of Zagreb has cancelled a 40 million euro tender intended to procure devices for remote water meter reading. The decision cites significant financial losses at the municipal utility company, Vodoopskrba i odvodnja, which reduced its investment plan after securing funds for 2025. Additionally, the required LoRaWAN network infrastructure necessary for transmitting data wirelessly was never established. The cancellation follows a legal dispute where the State Commission for Control of Public Procurement Procedures invalidated the initial selection of a local firm due to unequal testing conditions, ordering the city to pay costs to the rejected bidder, A1 Croatia. A subsequent appeal by the initially selected firm was dismissed by the High Administrative Court, leading to the termination of the entire procurement process.

Bias read (Center): The report relies exclusively on administrative decisions, court rulings, and official budget figures without employing loaded language or omitting counterarguments regarding the management failure.