Mayor selects French ACTN Consortium as tranvía project manager; Construction will take 10 months

Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera announced Monday afternoon that he has chosen the French ACTN Cuenca Tranvía Consortium as project manager for the city’s tram system. The consortium will have 10 months after the contract is signed to complete the project that has sat mostly idle for almost a year.

The ACTM Consortium was picked to complete the tram.

According to Cabrera, ACTN has agreed to a project price of $43.8 million, substantially below its original bid of $50.5 million.

Despite the fact that a second bidder, China Railway No. 9 Engineering Group, offered to do the job for $32.7 million, the mayor said he selected ACTN because of its reputation and because it is partnered with the French Alstom Corporation that manufactured the rolling stock and track for the tranvía and oversaw track installation. “They are familiar with the hardware and technical specifications and have a strong track record on transportation systems of this kind,” he said.

The committee that reviewed the bids said it had reservations about China Railway because of missed deadlines and ongoing legal disputes following two of its previous projects.

ACTN Tramway Cuenca Consortium is made up of the French companies Alstom, CIM Groupe and NGE Contracting, all with international experience in construction of electric tram systems. “They have proven that they can complete these projects on time and on budget, which is essential for us at this time,” said Cabrera.

ACTN replaces the Four Rivers Consortium of Cuenca (CCRC), which walked off the job in a payment dispute with the municipality in October 2016.

According to Cabrera, the contract with ACTN will be signed on October 12,