The municipal enterprise Miskavtotrans of the Ternopil City Council has announced a tender for the purchase of 8-11 m long buses for a total of EUR 2 million under the Urban Public Transport of Ukraine program funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
According to the EIB’s announcement, the bids are scheduled to be opened on November 5 this year.
The tender documents state that the buses should be fully low-floor, with 20-35 seats.
The first batch is to be delivered no later than 32 weeks from the date of receipt of the advance payment by the supplier, and the contract is expected to last for 40 weeks. However, price is not the only criterion for awarding the contract, but all criteria are specified only in the procurement documents.
As reported, Ternopil has already tried three times to purchase buses through an international tender – the last time the tender for the purchase of 15 buses 9-12 m long was canceled at the end of 2023.
According to Etalon Corporation, a Turkish company was declared the winner, but during the tender period, prices for the equipment rose and it became unprofitable to supply them.
Initially, the tender was announced in early 2021, with applications submitted by the Belarusian MAZ and Etalon Corporation, which was expecting to win the tender, but the procedure was delayed and stopped due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Under the Urban Public Transport program, the EIB was supposed to provide a loan of up to EUR 2 million for the purchase of 15 buses by Miskavtotrans, including spare parts, equipment and tools for maintenance and related services.