Three consortiums and one individual candidate filed binding bids yesterday for building a bridge between the Bulgarian city of Vidin and Romania 's Calafat. The Spanish company FCC Contruccion tendered the cheapest offer of EUR 100mn, followed by the German-French consortium of Zublin and Eiffel with EUR 158.3mn, consortium of Bouygues Travaux Publics (France), Transtroi Varna (Bulgaria), Rizzani De Eccher (Italy) with EUR 183.1mn, and consortium of Vinci (France), Glavbolgarstroy (Bulgaria) and Moststroy (Bulgaria) with 268.2mn. Price is not the only selection criteria but will undoubtedly give a big advantage to the Spanish bidder. The total cost of the project is provisionally estimated at EUR 236mn.The winner selection process and the signing of the contract are expected by the end of the year. The transport ministry has also shortlisted 7 candidates for running engineering and supervision works for the project. Engineering and construction works are projected to continue 38 months while the deal with the supervisor will cover a period of 51 months. Most of the financing is secured by EU and bilateral donor programmes. The bridge will provide an important rail and road alternative link to the Romanian and CEE markets. Bulgaria and Romania are presently connected by only one bridge over the Danube River border.