Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry says it will switch contractor for supply of trains
Polish company Pojazdy Szynowe PESA Bydgoszcz SA will be selected as the contractor for the delivery of 35 locomotives under the Public Procurement Act after Stadler Polska Sp. z o. o. withdrew, Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry said.
As The Sofia Globe reported at the time, Bulgaria’s caretaker Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov and the management of Polish company Stadler Polska Sp. z o. o. signed on April 26 a contract worth more than 300 million leva for the supply of seven double-decker trains, to be bought using funds under the EU’s Recovery and Sustainability Plan.
However, the Transport Ministry said in a statement on July 27 that Stadler, which had ranked first in the tender, had withdrawn from the procedure and had requested termination of the contract to supply the seven double-decker trains.
Stadler said that it was withdrawing from the procedure for the delivery of 35 locomotives, the ministry said.
The ministry said that the original deadline for the contractor to submit a bank guarantee was 30 working days from receipt of notification of secured funding, and at Stadler’s request, this deadline was extended by a further 52 working days.
“The deadline for the submission of the bank guarantee expired on July 22 2024, and so far it has not been provided, which is further confirmation of the company’s refusal to fulfill the contract awarded to it,” the statement said.
The ministry said during its negotiations with Stadler, much effort had been made to reach mutually beneficial solutions, within the framework of the law. The ministry had not accepted changes proposed by Stadler.
“In spite of everything, we are in continuous dialogue with the European Commission and will undertake the maximum effort to implement in full and on time the reform in the railway sector laid down in the Recovery and Sustainability Plan,” the July 24 statement quoted Gvozdeikov as saying.
(Photo: PESA)
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