Bids and award

After bids are opened, the mesa de contratación (the evaluation committee) first scores the criteria subject to value judgement (technical report, works programme, quality measures) and then the automatic criteria (price, completion time, extended warranties). With the total score, bids are ranked, any presumption of abnormality is checked, the top-ranked bidder is asked to provide supporting documentation and the performance guarantee, and the contract is awarded. Formalisation closes the phase and opens execution.

That order matters: the separation between envelopes (or electronic files) is a guarantee of objectivity, and its breach (knowing the price before scoring the technical part) is a frequent ground for annulment before the procurement review bodies. Bidders must respect it too, and slipping price into the technical envelope means exclusion.

Failing to answer the documentation request is treated as withdrawal of the bid: the contract moves to the next-ranked bidder and the company faces a penalty. Having the supporting documents and the guarantee ready in advance is therefore part of the bidding strategy itself.

The LCSP (Ley 9/2017, Spain's Public Sector Contracts Act) requires awarding to the best price-quality ratio, with criteria linked to the contract's object and weightings published in advance. In works contracts a split of 50 to 70 points for automatic criteria and 30 to 50 for value judgement is common, with the price scoring formula as the critical piece: a poorly chosen formula can make the contract turn on cents of difference or, conversely, make price barely discriminate at all.

Reading the weighting before bidding drives strategy: in a price-dominated tender, the bid is won in the cost study; in one with strong technical weight, in the report. The detail of criteria types, formulas and case law is developed in the article on award criteria and their weighting.

Bidding low earns points, but below certain thresholds the bid falls under a presumption of abnormality (the baja temeraria, or reckless bid, in industry language). Article 149 of the LCSP then triggers a justification procedure: the bidder must show the price is viable (supply conditions, technical solutions, own cost structure) and the committee decides whether to accept the explanation or exclude the bid. Detection parameters, the mechanics of the procedure and how to build a solid justification are analysed in the article on abnormally low tenders.

Before anything is scored, the bidder must be eligible. In works contracts of 500,000 euros or more, aptitude is proven through the contractor's clasificación (classification into groups, subgroups and categories according to the type and value of the work). Below that figure, the economic and technical solvencia (qualification) defined in the tender documents suffices. Companies that cannot meet the requirements alone may bid jointly through a unión temporal de empresas (UTE, a temporary joint venture), pooling classifications and references, a formula analysed in the article on joint bidding through a UTE. Eligibility requirements are detailed in the article on contractor qualification and classification.

A competitive public works bid is not the thickest one but the best targeted: a rigorous cost study built on the project's quantities, a discount decision informed by the tender's formula and by the abnormality threshold, a technical report that answers exactly the scoreable sub-criteria, and zero formal defects in the electronic submission. That working method, from analysing the tender documents to submission, is developed step by step in the article on preparing a public works bid.