Supervision of the Works Contract for Connection of Vinica to WWTP Kocani Including Partial Rehabilitation and Extension of Sewerage and Stormwater Sy...

This restricted tender procures construction supervision services for connecting Vinica municipality to the Kocani WWTP, including partial rehabilitation and extension of sewerage and stormwater systems, financed under IPA III. The estimated contract value is €643,000 excluding VAT and the contract duration is 39 months (24 months supervision, 3 months completion, 12 months defects notification). Submissions must be in English by sealed envelope to the Central Financing and Contracting Department, Ministry of Finance in Skopje by 3 June 2026 at 14:00 EET and the contract will be awarded on the best price-quality ratio under FIDIC Red Book (1999). Selection criteria include minimum average annual turnover of €200,000, technical references of at least two supervision contracts each valued at €250,000 or more, and required professional staffing and licences as detailed in the procurement documents.

What it funds

Scope

Provision of construction supervision services for the works contract Connection of Vinica to WWTP Kocani, including partial rehabilitation and extension of sewerage and stormwater systems. Works to be supervised under FIDIC Red Book (1999).

Estimated contract value:€643,000 (estimated total value)

1. 1Maximum contract duration: 39 months (24 months construction supervision, 3 months administrative close-out, 12 months defects liability period)
2. 2Procedure type: Restricted procedure; award by best price-quality ratio
3. 3Submission method: Non-electronic; requests to participate/tenders must be delivered in sealed envelope to CFCD Skopje

Who can apply

Open to natural persons and legal entities established in EU Member States or eligible countries under IPA III, including consortiums, and to international or regional organisations. Subcontracting allowed; shortlisted candidates (4 to 8) will be invited to tender.

Key eligibility and selection highlights

1. 1Minimum average annual turnover (last 3 years): €200,000 (each consortium member must comply where specified)
2. 2Technical capacity: at least 2 relevant supervision contracts in last 4 years, each with value >= €250,000, and experience with supervision of sewerage works under FIDIC conditions
3. 3Professional capacity: minimum average of 3 personnel with specialist knowledge related to the contract; professional license/certificate for construction supervision required

Interested candidates must submit the official request to participate form in English and the required declarations; shortlisted firms will be invited to submit full tenders (provisional invitation to tender: August 2026). Consult procurement documents for submission address, detailed selection and award criteria and required certificates: Funding and Tenders Portal

Opportunity summary

Type:Tender (restricted procedure). Lead contracting authority: Central Financing and Contracting Department (CFCD), Ministry of Finance, Republic of North Macedonia. Objective: provision of construction supervision services for the works contract titled Connection of Vinica to WWTP Kocani, including partial rehabilitation and extension of sewerage and stormwater systems in the Municipality of Vinica. The works will be implemented under FIDIC Conditions of Contract Red Book, 1999 edition. Estimated total value: €643 000 (excluding VAT). Maximum contract duration: 39 months (24 months construction supervision, 3 months administrative/completion tasks, 12 months Defects Notification Period). Award method: best price-quality ratio. Place of performance: Republic of North Macedonia. Programme financing: Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), Annual Action Plan in favour of the Republic of North Macedonia for 2022, Action 4: EU for Modern Wastewater Systems. TED reference: 83/2026 292003-2026.

Primary procedural dates:TED publication date / Contract notice publication: 29/04/2026. Deadline for receipt of requests to participate: 03/06/2026 14:00 Europe/Skopje (UTC+02:00). Provisional date of invitation to tender (if shortlisted): August 2026. Provisional commencement date of contract: December 2026. Submission method for requests to participate: Non-electronic; sealed envelope delivered by post/courier or hand-delivered to CFCD address in Skopje. Submissions must follow instructions and be in English.

Eligibility, participation and scope

Participation is open to all natural persons who are nationals of, and legal persons effectively established in, Member States of the European Union or in eligible countries or territories as defined under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 2021/1529 establishing IPA III. Participation is also open to international and regional organisations. Candidates may submit individually or in a consortium (permanent or ad hoc). Sub-contracting is allowed. All members of a consortium are jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority. Candidates included in EU restrictive measures lists at the moment of award cannot be awarded the contract. No PIC registration is required for submission of the request to participate form for this tender.

The tender is part of an EU-funded procurement project under IPA III and therefore LocalLaw procurement rules apply for EU external actions. Electronic submission is not allowed for the request to participate stage; the contracting authority justifies this on the grounds of tools, devices, or file formats not generally available. Clarification requests of general interest must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal; clarifications will be published on the Portal at latest 8 days before the submission deadline.

Key contact and submission address:Central Financing and Contracting Department (CFCD), Ministry of Finance, EU Procurement and Contracting Unit, str. Dame Gruev 12, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. Requests to participate must be submitted in English in a sealed envelope either by post/courier (postmark or deposit slip as evidence) or hand-delivered with signed receipt during working hours Monday–Friday 08:30–16:30 local time. The contract title and publication reference must be clearly marked on the envelope.

Selection and award criteria (detailed)

Selection criteria include economic/financial capacity, professional capacity, and technical capacity. Award criterion: best price-quality ratio. Between 4 and 8 candidates will be short-listed to submit detailed tenders. If fewer than 4 eligible candidates meet selection criteria, the contracting authority may still invite those who do. If more than 8 meet criteria, re-examination using additional comparative criteria will rank candidates.

1. 1Economic and financial capacity: average annual turnover over last 3 closed financial years must be at least €200 000. Current ratio (current assets/current liabilities) in the last closed year must be at least 1. In case of a consortium, each member must meet the current ratio criterion.
2. 2Professional capacity: over the current and previous two years the candidate must have on average at least 3 personnel directly employed or legally contracted in specialist knowledge areas related to this contract. Candidate/tenderer must not have professional conflicting interests that could negatively affect contract performance. Each sole candidate or each consortium member must hold the professional license/certificate (or equivalent) in accordance with laws of the country of establishment authorising execution of construction supervision works; this criterion cannot be fulfilled by relying on other entities.
3. 3Technical capacity: candidate must have completed services under at least 2 contracts implemented at any moment during the last 4 years before submission deadline, each with value of services completed not less than €250 000. Completed services must be in supervision of construction/reconstruction/rehabilitation/extension of sewerage systems governed by FIDIC conditions of contract. Ongoing supervision contracts are acceptable if the related works contract is within the Defects Liability Period (DLP) and a Taking Over Certificate or equivalent has been issued. If projects were implemented in consortium, the candidate's proportion must be at least 50% of the overall contract to be considered.

Additional comparative criteria for short-listing (used only if more than 8 eligible candidates): 1) highest number of contracts meeting the technical capacity criterion; 2) highest cumulative value of completed services meeting the technical capacity criterion. Criterion 2 is applied only to tied candidates for position 8 after applying criterion 1.

Administrative, compliance and practical details

Requests to participate must be submitted using the request to participate form (Annex b3) and accompanied by a Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (template available on the Commission Annexes page). Any additional unsolicited documentation will not be taken into account. Financial figures in forms must be in EUR; conversions from other currencies must use InforEuro exchange rate of June 2026. All written communications for the tender procedure and contract must be in English.

1. 1Number of requests per candidate: a natural or legal person may submit no more than one request to participate or tender. If more than one is submitted, all will be excluded.
2. 2Short-list alliances prohibition: shortlisted candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for this contract unless prior authorisation is obtained from the contracting authority.
3. 3Grounds for exclusion: candidates must sign a Declaration on Honour that they are not in exclusion situations listed in PRAG Section 2.4.2.1; where capacity is provided by other entities or subcontractors the same declaration must be provided by those entities.
4. 4Sub-contracting: allowed; where the candidate relies on other entities, commitments must be provided showing those entities will place resources at the candidate's disposal; for technical/professional criteria reliance is only allowed where the third entity will perform the tasks for which its capacities are required.

Application materials, templates and format

Requests to participate must be submitted using the Request to Participate form (Annex b3) and the Declaration on Honour template (Annex b). The request to participate form and templates are available from the Commission Annexes page (Annexes repository). The contracting authority instructs strict observance of the format and instructions in the request to participate form. Required documentary evidence to support selection criteria includes financial statements for the last three closed financial years, proof of professional licenses/certificates, employment records for technical staff, and contracts or certificates of completed services (reports, approvals, proof of payment or taking-over certificates) demonstrating compliance with the technical capacity thresholds. If relying on capacity-providing entities, their commitments must be provided in separate documents. Only documents requested should be included; unsolicited brochures or promotional material will not be considered.

Suggested structure for submission pack (request to participate stage):1. Cover letter clearly indicating contract title and publication reference. 2. Completed Request to Participate form (Annex b3). 3. Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (template Annex). 4. Evidence of economic and financial capacity: audited accounts or equivalent for last 3 closed years, calculation of average annual turnover, current ratio documentation. 5. Evidence of professional capacity: list of personnel, employment contracts/HR statements proving at least 3 relevant specialists on average over the last 3 years, statements regarding conflicting interests, copies of professional licenses/certificates for responsible personnel or company. 6. Evidence of technical capacity: documentary proof for at least two contracts in last 4 years each valued at €250 000 or more for supervision of sewerage projects governed by FIDIC, including certificates of completion, taking-over certificates, approval of reports, proof of payments, consortium agreements showing candidate's share where applicable. 7. If relying on capacity-providing entities: commitment letters and separate supporting documents for those entities. 8. Any required administrative documents (power of attorney, proof of registration/establishment). 9. Administrative checklist and index.

Technical and professional expectations for supervision

The supervision services will be implemented under FIDIC Red Book 1999 and therefore the supervising entity must demonstrate experience with construction supervision under FIDIC conditions, including contract administration, interim payments, certification, handling of variations and claims, monitoring of works quality, health and safety oversight, environmental compliance, coordination with Engineer and Employer, progress reporting, and administration of Taking Over and Defects Notification Period processes. The technical capacity threshold requires prior reference contracts in supervision of sewerage system works (construction, rehabilitation, extension) where FIDIC conditions applied. The contracting authority expects supervisors to have personnel with specialist knowledge in wastewater infrastructure, sewer and stormwater systems, construction supervision, and FIDIC contract management.

Selection and evaluation practicalities:Between 4 and 8 candidates will be shortlisted based on selection criteria and potential re-ranking using additional comparative criteria if necessary. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit full tenders; short-listed candidates must not change the composition of their tendering consortium without prior authorisation. The contracting authority will communicate the outcome electronically to addresses provided in the request to participate form. If the number of eligible candidates meeting the selection criteria is less than 4, the authority may invite those who satisfy criteria to submit tenders.

Risk factors, compliance and review

Candidates should ensure they are not listed in EU restrictive measures lists at award time. The procurement is governed by LocalLaw for EU external actions and PRAG selection/exclusion rules apply. Disputes or remedies fall under the jurisdiction of the National court of North Macedonia; review information and the CFCD contact details are published in the procurement documents. Candidates must monitor the Funding & Tenders Portal for corrigenda or clarifications; CFCD may extend deadlines in case of communication disruptions in the final 5 calendar days preceding the submission deadline.

1. 1Do not submit more than one request to participate. Multiple submissions from the same natural or legal person will result in exclusion.
2. 2Ensure each consortium member individually meets any selection criteria that are required to be fulfilled by each member (e.g., current ratio, professional license).
3. 3Provide documentary proof for technical references demonstrating FIDIC-based supervision of sewerage works and values at or above €250 000 per contract.
4. 4Submit requests in English, in sealed envelopes, clearly marked with contract title and publication reference, and to the specified CFCD address.

Documents and where to find them:Procurement documents, additional information (A5f Additional information about the Contract Notice), request to participate form and Declaration on Honour templates are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal procurement notice page for this procedure and the Commission Annexes repository. See the call for tenders page and linked PDF documents on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Funding & Tenders Portal - Tender Details for downloads and updates ¹.

General summary and explanation

This is a restricted procurement for the supervision of civil works connecting the town of Vinica to the existing wastewater treatment plant in Kocani and for partial rehabilitation and extension of sewerage and stormwater systems in Vinica municipality. It is financed under the EU Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) and managed by the Central Financing and Contracting Department of North Macedonia. The procurement follows PRAG/LocalLaw rules applicable to EU external actions. Eligible entities (individual companies, consortia, international/regional organisations) that can demonstrate specified economic, professional and technical capacities — notably experience supervising sewerage projects under FIDIC Red Book with reference contracts valued at least €250 000 — may submit a request to participate in English by sealed paper submission. Between 4 and 8 candidates will be shortlisted to submit full tenders; the contract will be awarded on the best price-quality ratio and the supervising contract duration is 39 months in total. Key actions for interested applicants: review the procurement documents and Annex templates on the Funding & Tenders Portal immediately, prepare documentary evidence to demonstrate compliance with selection criteria (financial statements, personnel records, professional licences, technical references and proof), ensure submission in sealed envelope by the deadline 03/06/2026 14:00 Europe/Skopje, and monitor the Portal for clarifications or deadline changes. The contracting authority provides the A5f Additional Information document and the Annex templates referenced in the tender dossier which must be strictly followed to avoid administrative exclusion.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary source documents include the Contract Notice and the PDF 'a5f_additional_information_contract_notice_0039_V1.pdf' available on the Funding & Tenders Portal tender details page. Candidates should consult these procurement documents for full legal, administrative and technical detail and for the exact request to participate and tender templates.

Opportunity Overview

This is a restricted tender procedure for construction supervision services related to wastewater infrastructure development in North Macedonia. The contract involves providing comprehensive supervision for the connection of Vinica municipality to the Kocani wastewater treatment plant, including partial rehabilitation and extension of sewerage and stormwater systems. The project is financed under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) through a financing agreement signed on 21 December 2023.

Key Financial and Contractual Details

Estimated Contract Value:€643,000 (excluding VAT)

Contract Duration:39 months total, comprising 24 months for construction works supervision, 3 months for administrative issues and document completion, and 12 months for the Defects Notification Period

Contract Type:Fee-based services contract

Award Criteria:Best price-quality ratio

Procedure Type:Restricted procedure with two-stage evaluation

Implementation Framework:FIDIC Conditions of Contract (Red Book, 1999 edition)

Eligibility and Participation

Participation is open to all natural persons who are nationals of and legal persons effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in an eligible country or territory as defined under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 2021/1529. International and regional organisations may also participate. Candidates may apply individually or as consortia. All consortium members are jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority.

Candidates must not be subject to any grounds for exclusion as listed in Section 2.4.2.1 of the Practical Guide (PRAG). Candidates included in EU restrictive measures lists at the time of award decision cannot be awarded the contract. Sub-contracting is permitted.

Selection Criteria

Economic and Financial Capacity

• Average annual turnover of the last 3 financial years (for which accounts have been closed) must be not less than €200,000
• Current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) in the last year for which accounts have been closed must be at least 1. For consortia, this criterion must be fulfilled by each member

Professional Capacity

• During the current year and the previous two years, on average, at least 3 personnel directly employed or otherwise legally contracted on a permanent or non-permanent basis in areas of specialist knowledge related to this contract
• Not subject to professional conflicting interests that may negatively affect contract performance
• Possession of a professional license, certificate, or right in accordance with the laws of the country where the candidate is established, or equivalent, for the execution of supervision of construction works. Candidates may not rely on the capacities of other entities for this criterion

Technical Capacity

Candidates must have completed services under at least 2 contracts implemented at any moment during the last 4 years before the submission deadline. For each contract, the value of services completed must not be less than €250,000. The completed services must be in the domain of supervision of construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or extension of sewerage systems, governed by FIDIC conditions of contract.

If a service or supervision contract is ongoing but the related works contract is within the Defects Liability Period (with at least a Taking Over Certificate issued), the supervision contract will be considered. If the candidate worked on a contract in consortium with other companies, the candidate's proportion of services completed must be at least 50 percent of the overall contract value.

Ranking of Candidates

If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the selection criteria, they will be ranked using additional comparative criteria in the following order: first, the highest number of contracts under which services have been completed that meet the technical capacity criterion; second, the highest cumulated value of completed services that meet the technical capacity criterion. These criteria are applied only to identify the 8 best candidates for the tender procedure.

Submission and Timeline

Deadline for Requests to Participate:3 June 2026 at 14:00 (UTC+02:00) Eastern European Time

Provisional Date of Invitation to Tender:August 2026

Provisional Commencement Date of Contract:December 2026

Requests to participate must be submitted in English exclusively in a sealed envelope to the Ministry of Finance, Central Financing and Contracting Department (CFCD), EU Procurement and Contracting Unit, str. Dame Gruev 12, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. Submissions may be sent by post, courier service, or hand-delivered in person. Electronic submission is not permitted. The contract title and publication reference must be clearly marked on the envelope.

For postal or courier submissions, evidence of timely submission is the postmark or deposit slip date. For hand delivery, an acknowledgement of receipt serves as proof. Requests to participate submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Evaluation Process

This is a two-stage restricted procedure. In the first stage, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit detailed tenders based on their requests to participate. If fewer than 4 eligible candidates meet the selection criteria, the contracting authority may invite all candidates who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender. If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the criteria, they will be ranked using the additional comparative criteria described above.

Short-listed candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for this contract. Any tenders received from tenderers with different composition than those mentioned in the short-listed request to participate forms will be excluded unless prior authorisation from the contracting authority has been obtained.

Important Procedural Requirements

• No more than one request to participate or tender can be submitted by any natural or legal person in any form of participation. Multiple submissions will result in automatic exclusion of all submissions involving that person
• Requests to participate must use the official request to participate form available from the EC External Wiki Annexes page
• A signed declaration on honour on exclusion and selection criteria must accompany each request to participate
• Financial data must be expressed in EUR. If amounts are originally in a different currency, conversion must use the InforEuro exchange rate of June 2026
• All written communications for the tender procedure and contract must be in English
• Candidates may request clarifications through the F&T Portal at latest 21 days before the submission deadline. Clarifications will be published at latest 8 days before the deadline
• Candidates accept to receive notification of evaluation outcomes by electronic means
• Candidates may alter or withdraw requests to participate by written notification prior to the deadline. No alterations are permitted after the deadline

Project Context and Financing

This procurement is part of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) Annual Action Plan in favour of the Republic of North Macedonia for 2022, specifically Action 4: EU for Modern Wastewater Systems. The project aims to improve municipal wastewater collection infrastructure in compliance with EU environmental standards. The financing agreement was concluded between the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the European Commission on 21 December 2023.

Contact and Further Information

The contracting authority is the Central Financing and Contracting Department (CFCD) of the Ministry of Finance, Republic of North Macedonia. Procurement documents are available on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal at the tender details page. For review and dispute procedures, the National Court of North Macedonia is the competent review organisation. Additional information can be obtained from the CFCD at str. Dame Gruev 12, 1000 Skopje, or through the portal's Questions and Answers section.

The TED publication reference is 292003-2026, and the internal procedure identifier is EC-ENEST/SKP/2026/EA-RP/0039. The notice was published on 29 April 2026 and is available in English only.

Footnotes

1. 1The Practical Guide (PRAG) referenced throughout this opportunity contains detailed information on eligibility rules, exclusion grounds, and procedural requirements. Candidates should consult the relevant sections, particularly Section 2.4 on restrictive measures and Section 2.4.2.1 on grounds for exclusion.