Procurement Disputes Derail Multimillion-Euro Street Lighting Project in Riga
Riga City Council halted its lighting modernisation tender in September because the work could no longer be finished by the 2 April 2027 deadline. In early November the city returned over €370,000 in advance funding to the state.
Riga City Council halted the tender for a multimillion-euro lighting project in September, because the work could no longer be completed by the project deadline of 2 April 2027. A television programme looked into the procurement disputes behind the collapse. The city has had to return the advance payment it received, though the funding itself can be used for other projects.
Why the tender was stopped
The municipality says more than 2,000 light fixtures must be manufactured and installed, and winter conditions could make the work harder.
Bidders' complaints
RCG Lighthouse, the company that submitted the cheapest bid, accuses the city of biased evaluation. Vizulo Solutions, another bidder, blames the drawn-out procurement on appeals filed by competitors and questions whether a rival's proposed technical solution meets requirements.
Evija Mugina, deputy head of the Procurement Monitoring Bureau (IUB), which oversees public tenders in Latvia, says the bureau found errors by the municipality in evaluating bidders' offers. However, she says there is no basis to conclude that Riga deliberately tried to secure a win for a particular company.
Document metadata
The metadata of the tender documents raised further questions: in some Word files prepared by the municipality, representatives of Vizulo Solutions are listed as authors. The company denies any involvement in preparing the documents, while a city department explains this by previously used document templates. The bureau's review found no violations.
Funding
In early November the city returned more than €370,000 of the advance it had received to the state. The funding will not be lost and can be used for other projects.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Climate and Energy is preparing a new €20 million support programme for lighting modernisation. It is to include an option to extend project deadlines, so that municipalities do not lose the chance to use the funds because of procurement appeals.
