It was during the autumn of 2019 that Hallsberg municipality entered into an agreement on a major renovation of a property.
The municipality already has a framework agreement for minor renovations, but the Swedish Competition Authority believes that the current renovation falls outside the framework agreement because it was a large job where, among other things, office premises, workshop, carpentry, laundry and gates would be rebuilt.
The construction period was set at approximately one year and the value of the agreement landed at approximately SEK 11 million.
- It is not uncommon for us to see construction contracts where contracts have been awarded without advertising.
As a supervisory authority, it is important that we act on the issue.
Open advertising gives more suppliers the opportunity to submit tenders and increases the buyer's chances of making a better deal, says the Swedish Competition Authority's Director General Rikard Jermsten in a press release.
Hallsberg municipality should have announced the agreement and the direct procurement that was done was not allowed, according to the Swedish Competition Authority.
The agency is now turning to the Administrative Court in Karlstad and demands that Hallsberg municipality be sentenced to pay SEK 800,000 in procurement damages.