Integrated action concept "Valley Axis Plus"

✓Exclusion criteria (A) mainly concern reference requirements (3 personal references of the project management, at least 2 municipal, max. 15 years old, one of which with special urban planning law/renovation law), qualification and professional experience of the project management, deputy and main responsible person working, as well as the written confirmation of availability and presence.

✓In particular, (B) the following shall be assessed: Presentation/concept and initial offer with 40% weight, differentiated according to content completeness and consistency of the hourly rates (0-10 points, minimum score 6); Project management and methodology (25%) based on 6 topics queried during the interview (project requirements, specificities, organisation, communication, dates/deadlines, focus), per topic 0-5 points; Fee offer (35%) for which the lowest offer will receive 10 points and further offers will be evaluated in descending order in stages.

✓The contract will be awarded to the tender with the highest overall score; Participation interview and short presentation are mandatory components, the non-perception of which leads to exclusion.

✓Risks and special conditions include numerous contractual provisions.

✓Form 634 and Addendum 634 provide, inter alia: Possibility of providing security from EUR 50,000 contract value (contract performance guarantee according to VHB), if necessary separate security for claims for defects; Contractual penalties in case of delay (percentages to be left open in the form), additional contractual penalties up to a total of 5% of the remuneration for breaches of collective bargaining, minimum wage, obligations to pass on to subcontractors and breaches of special conditions to combat undeclared work.

✓As a matter of principle, the contractor must provide services with his own resources, the use of subcontractors/subcontractors requires approval and is subject to extensive monitoring and cooperation obligations (lists of employees, certificates from the tax office/health insurance fund/professional cooperative).

✓In addition, there is a GTC defence clause in favour of the urban contract conditions.

✓Remuneration is paid by means of a weighted office hourly rate based on hourly records with monthly discount invoices; Travel times for face-to-face appointments of more than 1.5 hours are only remunerated at a maximum of 50% of the hourly rate, and the customer reserves the right not to call up all service modules in full without being able to assert claims for compensation (only cross-compensation within the total hourly and cost framework).

⚠With regard to deadlines, questions and possible contradictions, it is stipulated that the request to participate must be submitted exclusively electronically via the procurement portal by 9:00 a.m. on 29 September 2026.

✓Tenderers' questions must be addressed to the contracting authority "in good time", usually before the closing date for submission of tenders/participation, and no later than 12.11.2026 (for certain documents); Questions received later will not be answered in principle.

✓There are minor uncertainties in the text, such as different end dates of the performance period (end of 2031 vs. 31.03.2032) and the simultaneous use of UVgO/VOL/B classification with a VgV negotiation procedure; However, the time limits for performance specified in Form 634, as well as the type of award in the contract notice and in the request to participate, are relevant.

Answers on the required criteria

Must securities be provided (bid bond, performance or warranty guarantee)? If so: which, in what amount and by when?

❓Regarding securities, the tender does not mention a bid bond.

✓However, it includes standard clauses on performance and defect security.

✓As such, the “VVB 634 – Besondere Vertragsbedingungen” (Formular 634) states in clause 6.1 that a security for the fulfillment of all contractual obligations (“Sicherheit für die Erfüllung sämtlicher Verpflichtungen”) in the amount of a certain percentage of the contract sum (including VAT, without change orders) can be required if the net contract sum is at least 50,000 EUR and if such security is exceptionally necessary for proper and timely performance.

✓The exact percentage is not pre-filled in the template and would be specified by the contracting authority in the finalized contract.

✓For defects (warranty) security, the Beiblatt to Formular 634 (clause 10.3) explains that a security for warranty claims (“Sicherheit für die Mängelansprüche nach Nr. 5. der EVB”) can be demanded from a net order sum of 50,000 EUR; again, the concrete amount and timing would be regulated in the VVB 634 form.

✓When security is provided by guarantee, clause 6.2 prescribes use of a contract performance bond (“Vertragserfüllungsbürgschaft”) conforming to the VHB form, with self-debtor guarantee, waiver of § 771 BGB, unbounded duration until the bond document is returned, and jurisdiction at the seat of the authority’s legal representation.

❓Thus, securities may be required above 50,000 EUR, in the form and amount indicated in the specific VVB 634 for the awarded contract; no explicit deadline for submitting the security is specified in the excerpt, but by standard practice it is usually shortly after contract award and before first payment.

Is subcontracting allowed? If so: with which limits and which disclosure duties?

✓Subcontracting (Nachunternehmer/Subunternehmer) is explicitly allowed but subject to approval and strict disclosure obligations.

✓As such, the Beiblatt 634 (clause 10.14) refers to § 4 VOL/B and requires that if the contractor wishes to employ a sub-/nachunternehmer, this needs the contracting authority’s consent; the written request for permission must name the subcontractor company.

✓Once approved, the main contractor must oblige the subcontractor contractually to: provide up-to-date certificates from the tax office, health insurance fund and accident insurance association; provide lists of workers deployed on site with names, dates of birth and addresses; allow the main contractor to make these lists available to the client for possible transmission to authorities combating illegal work; allow on-site identity checks by the client; and permit the main contractor to provide a copy of the subcontract plus certificates to the client.

✓Furthermore, Tariftreue/Mindestlohn conditions (clauses 10.15 and 10.16) must also be passed down the subcontractor chain, and violations by subcontractors can trigger contractual penalties against the main contractor (up to an overall 5% of the remuneration).

✓The Teilnahmeantrag also includes a “Verpflichtungserklärung des Nachunternehmers”, which each subcontractor must sign and submit with the tender/participation request, confirming their availability to perform the specified part of the contract if the bidder is awarded the contract.

✓Hence, subcontracting is allowed but requires prior written consent, full disclosure of subcontractor identities and personnel, and submission of obligatory declarations and certificates.

Is there a site visit, and is attendance mandatory? If so: when?

✓As to site visits, the documents do not describe a classic “site inspection” (Ortsbesichtigung) of physical construction as a separate procedure, but they do prescribe mandatory presence in Stolberg for participation interviews/short presentations at the negotiation stage.

✓The Leistungsbild and the Wertungsmatrix specify that bidders must present their approach to contract fulfillment in a short presentation (“Kurzpräsentation”) during a “Teilnahmegespräch” on site in Stolberg.

✓For example, the participation conversation comprises 15 minutes of presentation (max. 20 slides) and 15 minutes of Q&A; topics for the presentation are defined in a “Kurzkonzept” annex.

✓The invitations and scheduling of these sessions take place in the week before the participation interviews, and the bidder must confirm the proposed date promptly, at least two working days before the scheduled time.

✓If a bidder cannot attend either the proposed appointment or an alternative date, their offer is excluded from further evaluation.

✓In addition, bidders must confirm in their declaration that they can attend regular presence meetings in Stolberg over the contract period (Jour fixe and ad hoc meetings, with at least 50% presence at Jour fixe dates).

✓Although this is not called a “site visit” in the classical sense, attendance at these on-site participation meetings is mandatory for evaluation; absence leads to exclusion.

In which language must the tender and the supporting documents be submitted, and are documents in other languages accepted?

✓Concerning language requirements, the tender documents are drafted in German, and there is no explicit clause allowing submission in other languages.

✓The Teilnahmeantrag and accompanying instructions are wholly in German and refer to electronic submission via German-language portals (Vergabeportal der Wirtschaftsregion Aachen, evergabe.nrw.de).

✓Legal references and declarations (e.g.

✓Eigenerklärung gem. § 123 GWB, § 124 GWB, § 73 VgV; Tariftreue- und Vergabegesetz NRW; personal data processing information) are all in German and presuppose understanding and acceptance of the German text.

✓There is no wording indicating that tenders can be submitted in English or another language, nor that supporting documents in other languages are accepted without translation; instead, German is the implicit required language of the tender and supporting documents.

❓If foreign-language evidence (for example, insurance policies or references) is used, bidders would typically need to provide German translations, but this is not explicitly spelled out in the excerpt.

How long is the bidder bound by the tender (validity period), and is there a deadline for bidder questions? If so: until when?

❓Regarding the binding period of the tender (Angebotsbindefrist) and the deadline for bidder questions, the documents do not state a specific number of days for the standard validity period; however, they regulate an automatic extension in case of review proceedings.

✓In particular, the Beiblatt 634 (clause 12) mandates that all companies participating in a review application (Nachprüfungsantrag) declare, with submission of their bid, that they agree to remain bound by their offer until four weeks after the final and legally binding decision of the last instance court, if the award is delayed due to review proceedings before the Vergabekammer and potentially the Oberlandesgericht.

✓For bidder questions, the “Aufforderung zur Abgabe eines Teilnahmeantrags” (CSX 30) clearly sets a deadline: additional information on the participation documents and the invitation letter must be requested no later than 12 November 2026.

✓It also states that bidder questions must be submitted in good time before the end of the participation/offer period, and that questions received after that deadline will generally not be answered.

Further details

✓Tender conditions for project management services “IHKo Talachse Plus” in Stolberg (Rhld.), Germany

✓The input text consists of the tender and contract documents for a VgV-Verhandlungsverfahren (negotiated procedure with prior call for competition) for project management, funding advice and management services to implement integrated urban development concepts (“IHKo Talachse Plus” and “Berg- und Talachse”) in the Kupferstadt Stolberg (Rhld.), Germany.

✓The perspective is clearly German: the documents reference German public procurement law (GWB, VgV, VOL/B, UVgO), North Rhine-Westphalia’s Tariftreue- und Vergabegesetz (TVgG NRW), German civil law (BGB) and German institutions (Vergabekammer Rheinland, Bezirksregierung Köln).

❓No other countries are mentioned as legal or institutional reference points, so the applicable framework and obligations are those of Germany and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

✓The end of the participation period is 23 November 2026, 09:00 (per the invitation letter), and until that date bidders can withdraw their participation applications electronically via the Vergabemarktplatz.