CHANNEL LINK IN TURMOIL

The future of the œ3 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link was in serious doubt this week after top secret information on all four bids was leaked to the press.

The leaked documents, detailing meetings of the Government's Channel Link Tender Adjudication Group, suggests Eurorail, one of the four consortia bidding to build the link, has been allowed to proceed even though it did not comply with the rules of the tendering process. The other three bidders are Union Link, Green Arrow, and London and Continental.

To close observers, this appears to invalidate the entire bidding process. Said one to CJ this week: 'The leak and the questions it raises puts at risk the whole integrity of the bidding process. It begs the question what else has been leaked to competitors? This is something ministers will have to explain in Parliament.'

The minutes reveal details about all four bidders, which indicate they all wish to make alterations to the plan. This would mean yet more delays to the project since the Parliamentary Bill for the project will need to be amended.

Adding to the confusion, legal experts warned this week that the project could also be delayed by a legal challenge since any breach in the tender rules is almost bound to be challenged by the losing consortia in the British and European Courts.

Said one:'This raises the spectre of a project which is the flagship of the British Government's Private Finance Initiative - indeed the flagship of the TransEuropean Network - being dragged through the Courts.'

Details about Eurotunnels' bid are revealed in the minutes for the meeting on March 20. They state: 'There was some discussion on how the particulary non compliant submission from Brecht (code name for Eurorail) should be handled.' The committee was concerned that the 'basis for adjudication should be defensible against a challenge from other bidders' and it says that Brecht's bid did not include a 'reference specification' - the basic bid which meets the terms set out in the tender document.

But in a later meeting on April 25 the minutes reveal that 'the new reference bid of Brecht provided sufficient information.' However DoT rules for the competition do not allow bidders to submit new bids.

Eurorail observers dismissed the suggestion that the consortia had been allowed to submit a new bid. 'There was no new bid, it was merely a clarification of Eurorail's original bid. There has been no preferential treatment of Eurorail.' The DoT also denied any breach in tendering procedure. However industry sources said the Government would have to clarify the situation if the bidding process was to retain any credibility.

'This is a disgrace but I suspect that the bidders are holding their tongues because what they don't want is for the Government to withdraw from the project completely.'