Tender for 150 buses fails, no bidders applied

No bidders applied for the tender for the purchase of 150 buses for the needs of GSP Beograd today, which is why this attempt to purchase new vehicles will also be unsuccessful, the trade union Centar GSP Beograd has learned.

- This outcome of the very important procurement procedure for GSP worth 7.8 billion dinars, and in fact even more important for the citizens of Belgrade and employees of the largest city enterprise, was expected because the city administration has ignored several warnings from trade unions, professional organizations and experts in the field of finance over the past year. Responsibility for the failure of the tender lies precisely with the top management of the city of Belgrade, which did not provide funds for the purchase of new buses, but also tried to shift this obligation to the supplier with the obligation to provide financial leasing for the buyer. However, due to the poor credit rating, delays in paying due obligations and the overall indebtedness of GSP, no financial institution wanted to accept the obligation to finance the purchase of buses without a guarantee from the city of Belgrade as the founder of GSP - the union claims.

The initial purchase for 300 buses, which was launched almost a year ago, was first postponed several times, during the tender the specification of the vehicles being purchased was changed, and then the Republic Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures issued a decision establishing illegalities in that procedure, so the entire tender was suspended. A few months later, a new procedure was launched, but for half the number of vehicles, although the real need of GSP is the purchase of a larger number of buses, especially articulated vehicles with a higher passenger capacity.

The tender for 150 buses was announced in early November and it envisaged the purchase of 70 articulated and 80 solo vehicles. The tender was originally scheduled to be completed by November 24, but the deadline for submitting bids was then extended.

When it comes to the cancellation of previously announced procurement procedures for the purchase of 170 new solo and 130 articulated gas buses, they were stopped by force of law due to the obvious elimination of all competition and favoritism of the Chinese manufacturer Higer, whose intermediary is the domestic company DAT Holding from Belgrade, the trade union Centar GSP Beograd stated at the time. Let us also remind that these two unsuccessful tenders, before being suspended, were also extended on several occasions.