Behind the Scenes of the Prague Metro Line D: How a 30-Billion-Crown Contract Was Reviewed

Josef Hrstka published a detailed analysis on the LegalWeb.cz portal of the review of one of the largest public procurement contracts in recent years—the construction of Prague’s Metro Line D, valued at approximately 30 billion crowns.

In early April 2026, the Prague Public Transport Company entered into a contract with a consortium of contractors led by the joint-stock company Subterra for the execution of the public contract “Metro Line I.D in Prague – Section (Olbrachtova) – Nové Dvory – Construction Phase.”

The tender process itself began as early as May 30, 2022, and the contract was not signed until more than three years after the bids were submitted. The reason was not inaction on the part of the contracting authority, but exceptionally intensive review activity by the individual participants in the tender process.

Trends in Public Procurement Review

As Josef describes in his analysis, the three-year tender process illustrates current trends in public procurement:

• Increasing emphasis on detailed documentation of the procurement process

• Transparent recording of evaluation considerations and precise handling of supporting evidence

• The ability to defend the contracting authority’s approach even in highly technical matters

• Multi-level review involving the objection procedure, the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), and administrative courts

One of the most interesting aspects of this case is the fact that the contracting authority issued a total of three decisions on the selection of a contractor. Both the first and second decisions were annulled following a review by the Office for the Protection of Competition. It was only the third decision, dated September 29, 2025, that was definitively upheld as lawful.

The case demonstrates that even repeated annulments of selection decisions do not necessarily imply that the outcome of the procurement procedure itself is unlawful—in all three instances, the bid from the same contractor was repeatedly evaluated as the most economically advantageous.

You can find the full analysis on the LegalWeb.cz portal: https://legalweb.cz/pod-poklickou-metra-d-jak-se-prezkoumavala-zakazka-za-30-miliard-popisuje-josef-hrstka-7723/