The ElectronMash plant (Lviv), which is part of the Electron corporation, and the Rivne NPP branch of the Energoatom National Nuclear Energy Company have signed a contract for the supply of five new large city buses for an estimated UAH 75.375 million (excluding VAT).
According to information in Prozorro, the agreement was signed on December 24 after ElectronMash was declared the winner of the relevant tender, in which it was the only participant.
According to the contract, with a total value of UAH 90.45 million (including VAT), the buses will be delivered within 245 calendar days from the date of receipt of the advance payment. A 30% advance payment (UAH 27.135 million) is provided for within 30 calendar days from the date of signing.
As reported, ElectronMash offered 12-meter low-floor Electron A18501 buses at a price of UAH 15.075 million (excluding VAT) each.
The buses were manufactured this year. They are equipped with a Cummins diesel engine that meets the Euro 6 environmental standard, a ZF automatic transmission, and an EBS system. Each bus is designed to carry more than 100 passengers (at least 30 seated), equipped with a folding ramp and seat belts in the passenger compartment to secure wheelchairs.
The Electron A18501 buses were first introduced by the manufacturer in 2016 and are currently in operation in Lviv and Uzhhorod.
The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant announced a tender for the purchase of five large buses on October 17 this year, with a delivery date of November 30, 2026. The auction was scheduled for October 28, but the customer postponed the deadline for submitting bids and its date several times.
As reported, the large Ukrainian bus manufacturer Etalon Corporation considered the tender conditions to be discriminatory, as they were written for the Turkish Temsa LF 12 bus, and also noted that for the announced price, it could offer seven Etalon buses instead of five. However, the customer did not change the tender conditions proposed by Etalon.
ElektronMash Plant LLC, in which Concern-Elektron JSC owns a 55% stake, specializes in the design and manufacture of trams, trolleybuses, electric buses, and city passenger buses, as well as aggregates and spare parts.
In 2024, the plant increased its net income by 87.7% compared to the previous year, to UAH 244 million, with a net profit of UAH 0.06 million, compared to UAH 0.9 million in 2023.
After opening a permanent mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian NPP, such missions began their work at the Rivne NPP and in the Chernobyl NPP zone, said Rafael Grossi, director general of the agency.
“IAEA continues to expand its presence in Ukraine. Today I launched the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission in Chernobyl,” Grossi said on Twitter Wednesday.
He noted that agency specialists will remain at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants to provide vital nuclear safety assistance “during these difficult and challenging times.”
Earlier, the IAEA Director General announced the opening of a mission to the Rivne NPP.
For its part, the RNPP noted on Facebook on Wednesday that two IAEA nuclear safety and security experts remain at the RNPP site for a permanent mission.
“Their purpose will be to continuously monitor and control the nuclear and radiation safety of the power plant. The mission members will report on any threats that may be posed by military activities and will also keep in touch with the agency about the needs of the plant,” the report explains.
RAES Director General Pavel Kovtonyuk said he hopes IAEA’s permanent missions to nuclear power plant sites will not allow the aggressor country to disrupt the safety and physical protection of the power plants.
“The experts will also see the work of our personnel and equipment during probable attacks on the energy infrastructure. Our close liaison with the IAEA will emphasize the importance of security issues for nuclear power plants by international institutions and the UN,” Kovtonyuk commented, as quoted in the RAES report.
According to the head of Gosatomregulirovanie Oleg Korikov, cited in a report of RAEC, it is necessary to work out mechanisms of complete cessation of cooperation with Russia in the use of nuclear energy and mechanisms to limit the rights of Russia at the IAEA.
The RAEC specified that up to 12 experts of the agency would work at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which should become an important step in the work to assist Ukraine in the conditions of Russian aggression.
As it was reported, on 16 January, the IAEA mission started its work at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian nuclear power plant, and since September, the agency’s permanent mission has been working at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The decision to open an IAEA mission at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant was also announced.
