According to the public procurement platform AcinGov, consulted by Lusa, there are four companies that competed until the end of the competition, July 7th, but only two of them submitted a bid below 108 million euros, the limit value indicated.

Aquapor, which joined the Spanish group GS Inima, presented a global value of 107.92 million euros, while Transwater and Cimontubo, which joined the Spanish Tedagua, which belongs to the Cobra group, advanced with 106.97 million.

According to sources familiar with the process, everything points to the dismissal of the consortiums that exceeded the indicated limit, Única/Casciana Acque Itália/Zaffaroni/Urban Grafts & Partners (146.00 million euros) and Conduril-Engenharia/Oliveiras/Aciona Water (136.00 million euros).

The same sources consider that these companies only entered the competition for reasons of notoriety and to show that they want to compete in this sector in the future.

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, said a week ago in the Assembly of the Republic that there were “two competitors” in the competition for the construction and operation of the desalination plant that will be built in the municipality of Albufeira.

The award will be made according to the “most economically advantageous proposal” criterion, taking into account weighting coefficients: investment cost (price) 35%, exploration cost 35% and technical value 30%.

According to market sources, the final decision on the project should be taken by September, due to the urgency in using funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

The construction of a desalination plant in the municipality of Albufeira, whose base value is 90 million euros, is one of the response measures to the drought affecting the southern region of Portugal, with the equipment expected to have an initial water conversion capacity from the sea in potable capacity of 16 cubic hectometres.

According to Águas do Algarve, the company responsible for water supply in the region, which is responsible for managing infrastructure such as dams or Wastewater Treatment Plants, the work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.