Insider Brief
- Italy’s Council of State upheld the cancellation of a €61.2 million contract awarded to IBM Italia for Campania’s first quantum computer.
- The court ruled that the regional government improperly extended the bidding deadline and rejected its later claim that a procurement-system malfunction caused the extension.
- The process will return to the stage before the extension, leaving Tea Tek’s original bid for evaluation but not guaranteeing it the contract.
- Photo by stux on Pixabay
Italy’s highest administrative court has upheld the cancellation of a €61.2 million contract awarded to IBM Italia for the first quantum computer planned for the Campania region.
The Council of State rejected an appeal by the Campania regional government and confirmed an earlier ruling that found problems with how the bidding process was handled, according to Italian news outlet Fanpage.it. The decision further delays a major part of Campania’s plan to establish a regional quantum computing hub.
The quantum system was intended for the University of Salerno’s campus in Fisciano. It would form a central part of Quantum Valley, a broader regional effort to build a quantum technology ecosystem in southern Italy.
The contract covered the purchase, delivery and installation of the quantum computer, along with specialist support. It was financed through the European Regional Development Fund’s 2021-2027 program and formed part of a wider investment of approximately €100 million, Fanpage.it previously reported.
The legal dispute did not center on IBM’s technology or the quality of its proposal. It instead focused on the regional government’s decision to extend the deadline for bids.
The original deadline was Feb. 10, 2025. The regional government extended it to Feb. 17 only hours before bids were due. Tea Tek, a Naples-based company that ultimately finished second behind IBM, challenged the decision.
Campania’s regional administrative court, known as the TAR, ruled in February that the extension was not adequately justified and canceled the subsequent award to IBM.
According to Fanpage.it, the regional government changed its legal argument during the appeal. It told the Council of State that the extension had resulted from a malfunction in the electronic procurement system.
The government had previously said that foreign companies experienced operational difficulties involving the platform, language requirements and the signing of documents.
The Council of State rejected the new explanation because it had not appeared in the original procurement records, Fanpage.it reported. The court considered it a justification introduced only after the legal dispute arose.
The judges also rejected an argument that Tea Tek had effectively withdrawn its original proposal by submitting additional bids during the extended period. The court instead viewed those submissions as part of a legitimate competitive strategy.
The ruling returns the procurement process to the point before the deadline was extended, Fanpage.it reports. Tea Tek’s original proposal is therefore the only bid from that stage available for consideration.
The Council of State also rejected the company’s request to be declared the winner, according to Fanpage.it. The Campania regional government retains the authority to assess whether the proposal is technically suitable and represents acceptable value. It may also decide not to award the contract.
The court ordered the regional government and IBM to pay €5,000 in legal costs.
The ruling leaves the future of the planned quantum computer uncertain while preserving the region’s discretion over whether and how to proceed with the investment.
This story is based on a computer-translated version of the original story in Italian.
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