Journal of Investment and Management 2013; 2(4): 70-86 Published online October 20, 2013 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/jim) doi: 10.11648/j.jim.20130204.11 Public procurement of winter road maintenance services based on EU procurement directive – Lessons from Sweden Adel Abdi 1 , Hans Lind 2 , Björn Birgisson 1 1 Royal Institute of Technology – KTH, Department of Transport Science, Division of Highway and Railway Engineering, Stockholm, Sweden 2 Royal Institute of Technology – KTH, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, Division of Building and Real Estate Economics, Stockholm, Sweden Email address: adel.abdi@abe.kth.se (A. Abdi), hans.lind@abe.kth.se (H. Lind), bjornbir@kth.se (B. Birgisson) To cite this article: Adel Abdi, Hans Lind, Björn Birgisson. Public Procurement of Winter Road Maintenance Services Based on EU Procurement Directive – Lessons from Sweden. Journal of Investment and Management. Vol. 2, No. 4, 2013, pp. 70-86. doi: 10.11648/j.jim.20130204.11 Abstract: Public procurement of road maintenance services, particularly in cold regions is not an easy task in order to satisfy road-users during winter. Road-users’ dissatisfaction, complaint and pressure can usually be considered as major factors for having more accessible and safe roads during winter. These pressures have contributed and led to an increasing critical approach focusing on public procurement of these services after some harsh winters in the recent years in Sweden with traffic disruption and delay as consequence i.e. an increasing focus on the way in which the Swedish state authorities and local governments procure winter road maintenance services. The present study which is part of a larger research project investigating efficient winter road maintenance through procurement, tendering and contract aimed at extending this knowledge base with regard to procurement and socioeconomic factors with focus on the winter maintenance of the Swedish road network. The study reveals that even the Swedish winter road maintenance services are procured and outsourced in accordance with EU directive and public procurement rules transposed into the Swedish act on public procurement, the act has been interpreted in a manner that all the process has led to great dissatisfaction of end-users during winter due to improper bundling of winter related services. The lack of economic motivation in current contracts concerning winter road maintenance in the form of incentives has led to an inefficient performance of winter road measures. The study suggests a number of proposals in order to make forthcoming contracts more effective through proper bundling of winter services and create incentives for contractors to improve the performance of winter road maintenance services. Keywords: Public Procurement, Procurement Legislation, Tender, Contract, Incentives, Bundling Services 1. Introduction 1.1. General Background Governments normally aim to create an affordable road network and to have as many roads as possible fully maintained to an acceptable standard [1]. Winter road maintenance in cold regions requires that roads are kept free from obstructions by snow and ice. This is a very extensive, important, difficult and therefore expensive work. Extensive, because winter is a substantial part of the year, important because sever restrictions on accessibility in winter would have adverse social effects, and expensive due to the large amount of work to be done, often at inconvenient hours and with high material consumption e.g. salt and sand. It is difficult due to the frequent and sudden changes in weather with potential for highly adverse effects and the need for immediate simultaneous actions over large parts of the road network [2]. To increase traffic safety and accessibility for road-users in the winter a well-planned procurement procedure and a well-structured contract with entrepreneurs are required in order to achieve high level of winter maintenance services. When procuring these services, the high importance of winter maintenance has to be taken into consideration very carefully in the inquiry-specification since ambiguities and oversights in the contract can obstruct or delay winter road maintenance performance, and thereby generate difficulties in obtaining the appropriate service level [2]. During the past two decades, maintenance of road