Brussels, 09/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - Four business consortia have made an offer for the concession of the Galileo satellite navigation and positioning system. After the (confidential) opening of the envelopes on Tuesday, a first pre-selection of candidates will be made in January 2004 by the joint company responsible for managing the current phase of the project's development. The joint undertaking will then initiate negotiations with pre-selected candidates, then present a proposal for attributing the concession to the European Commission which, in turn, will make a communication to the Parliament and Council.
The Commission specifies that the concession will be attributed to the pre-selected applicant that finally presents the offer that is the most advantageous economically, a criteria that mainly takes account of the amount of public contributions requested and the quality of the offer presented by the candidate. The dealer will be attributed the task of managing the deployment phase of the system, from 2006 to 2007, then its operation, scheduled to start in 2008. The private company that gains the concession should cofund the construction and the operation of the system by irrevocably pledging nearly EUR 1.5 billion, that is, nearly half of the global budget for the Galileo project. It will be entrusted with the task of exploiting the system in respect of very strict specifications, mainly in terms of public service obligations regarding continuity and the guaranteed provision of services, and develop the whole range of commercial services provided. It will be placed under the control of the surveillance authority (EUROPE of 21 October).
"The number and the quality of offers received demonstrates, if it is still necessary to do so, the interest that the business sector has in this key European project and the extent of its commercial impact", Loyola de Palacio, European Transport Commissioner, was pleased to note.