Hungary’s “Ikarus” and China’s “Zongtong” go from rivals to partners in the 60 million euro tender for 150 electric buses — CGK: capacity 30 seats fewer

The 60 million euro tender for the purchase of 150 electric buses — 57 million for the buses and 3 million for the charging stations, of which 100 for Skopje and 50 for the other cities — has been accompanied by an increased risk of favouritism and restriction of competition, according to the new investigation by the Center for Civic Communications (CGK), reported by the Sakam da kazham portal.

According to the investigation, the tender was held three times within 15 months and, after two cancelled procedures, the Hungarian company “Ikarus Electric Zrt” and the Chinese company “Zongtong Bus Holding” — competitors in the second tender — suddenly appeared as partners: in the third tender they submitted a joint bid, which was selected as the most favourable, although it was not the cheapest offer — two cheaper offers were rejected. The winning team also includes EVN Macedonia as a subcontractor for the charging stations, which will be produced by “Sungrow Deutschland”, a branch of the Chinese company “Sungrow Power Supply”.

The new buses will have a capacity of only 66 passengers — 20 seats fewer than the last buses bought by the City of Skopje and 30 seats fewer than the buses donated by the EU. The CGK notes that the combination of the repeated tender, the changes to the conditions, the changing composition of the bidders and the lack of reasoning for the changes creates an increased risk of favouritism, calling into question competition and transparency under Article 3 of the Law on Public Procurement; the Ministry of Transport did not hand over the requested documents, including the analysis on the basis of which the documentation was prepared.

The Mayor of the City of Skopje, Orce Gjorgjievski, told the City Council on August 31 that the contract for the 150 electric buses has been signed with the Hungarian company “Ikarus” and the first buses will arrive by the end of the year, while the charging infrastructure is being prepared in Avtokomanda and Gjorče Petrov.

The same CGK investigation also analysed the tender for the construction of the “Jackson” sports hall in Štip, worth 2.3 million euros — where the legal limit of 20% for additional works has been exceeded many times over with a new tender — as well as the tender for the reconstruction of the football field in the village of Čegrane: in the tender a football stadium, on the ground a meadow of dried grass.