Unfortunately, one of the four participants shortlisted out of 7 initially registered consortia - PPP D4 DAJL (consisting of DIF Infra 5 Participations 1 BV, Acciona Concesiones SL and John Laing Investments Ltd.), withdrew on his further participation in the procurement procedure on 13 March 2019, but that participant stated that his decision was purely on his own merits and that there were no reasons on the side of the contracting authority. Thus, the opening round took place gradually with each of the remaining candidates - DIVia (consisting of VINCI Highways SAS, VINCI Concessions SAS and Meridiam Investments SAS); HO-ST South Bohemian Link (made up of HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions GmbH and STRABAG AG); Via 4 - Southern Link (consisting of PORR Beteiligungen und Management GmbH, Macquarie Corporate Holdings Pty Limited (UK Branch), Obrascon Huarte Lain, S.A. and Egis Projects S.A.). Fundamental conceptual issues influencing the form of the concession agreement were discussed. These were: 1.) Access to the transfer, operation and maintenance of existing sections of the project (16 km); 2.) The currency in which the long-term debt of the concessionaire will be obtained, respectively in which the availability payment will be paid (CZK vs. EUR); 3.) Application of BIM for responsible asset management; 4.) Changes in the technical solution that candidates consider in general and their impact on permitting processes; 5.) Reasons for choosing a qualitative evaluation criterion for the evaluation of bids 6.) Archaeological surveys and how to ensure them. The second round of the competitive dialogue will take place in the second half of June and will focus mainly on technical issues. The end of the competitive dialogue phase is foreseen by the contracting entity in November 2019, followed by a request for bids. Submissions will be followed by their evaluation and approval processes at the level of the Government and the Parliament, which are necessary for the conclusion of the contract. The preparatory works could then start running by mid-2020.