The Ministry shortlisted the bidders in November 2018 on the basis of an assessment of compliance with the terms of reference and on the basis of the number of corresponding PPP reference projects. There were no objections against the shortlisteing procedure, which indicates a high degree of transparency of the entire tendering procedure. The first round of competitive dialogue will be held with bidders at the beginning of April 2019, with each candidate separately and on the same key topics of the concession contract. Overall, the Ministry of Transport anticipates four rounds of competitive dialogue, with the end of the negotiation phase in the competitive dialogue expected in Q4 / 2019. Following the acquisition of the main building permits, bidders will be invited to submit binding bids. The evaluation of the bids and the approval process of the contract, its signature and financial closure will follow. The launching of preparatory work, including archaeological research, is estimated during the construction season 2020, than to be followed by further construction works. The entire D4 section should be put in operation by the concessionaire by the end of 2023 at the latest.

The following table gives an overview of all participants who submitted their RFQ, with four shortlisted participants with the highest number of points awarded for reference PPP projects.