Bathing establishments: Draft tender for concessions ready: 5 to 20-year terms

Rome – The draft tender for awarding beach concessions is ready. The awarding of concessions will feature some changes, the most significant of which is the duration, from 5 to 20 years, which will allow Italy to adapt to European standards.

The tenders must be launched with the publication of a notice, at least six months before the expiration of the concession licenses and in any case by June 30, 2027. Continuity of services must be guaranteed during the tenders, and existing licenses will continue to be valid until the new concessionaire takes over. The changes are envisaged in the draft national standard tender, still subject to amendments, presented by the Ministry of Transport to the Unified Conference. This document also regulates compensation for the outgoing concessionaire and limits on the concentration of licenses.

To ensure maximum participation and competition, bids submitted by bidders already participating in a number of lots equal to the maximum allowed for each type of concession will not be accepted. The concession will be awarded solely on the basis of the most economically advantageous bid, identified on the basis of the best quality/price ratio, also taking into account any bonus criteria specifically established for each tender, for example, in favor of SMEs or companies that apply social clauses aimed at ensuring employment stability.

The financial offer cannot be evaluated higher than ten percent of the maximum score for the technical offer. The draft tender document specifies indicative and non-binding requirements for the granting authorities. These include, for beach establishments, at least one accessible restroom, a shower with space for a wheelchair, and level pedestrian walkways to all facilities with walkways of at least 1,20 m wide that allow direct access to the shoreline.

Public beaches with facilities are also regulated: areas equipped with small, easily removable structures that comply with urban planning and state property regulations. Among the key issues, the tender must include the procedures for the rotation of state concessionaires, with the aim of ensuring the functional continuity of activities and encouraging the reuse of existing equipment and removable structures.

The compensation paid by the incoming concessionaire to the outgoing concessionaire will be equal to the value of the investments made and not yet amortized at the end of the concession, as well as what is necessary to guarantee the outgoing concessionaire a fair return on the investments made in the last five years.