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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia must prove its ability to protect investors, Anti-Corruption Council says

Belgrade, 26 March 2004

Anti-Corruption Council President Ivan Lalic said today that Belgrade Airport has failed to re-evaluate bids in a tender for the repair of its terminal 2 although the bidder protection commission earlier said that offers should be reassessed.

This is a test of Serbia's ability to observe the law and protect foreign investors, Lalic told a press conference, organised by the Anti-Corruption Council, the bidder protection commission and the public procurement office.

The commission's decision is final and any agreement signed in violation of the decision is not valid, said commission president Aleksandar Lukic.

Austrian construction firm Bauholding Strabag, the second-ranking bidder in the tender for the reconstruction of Belgrade Airport's terminal 2, has submitted a complaint to the commission, citing irregularities in the bid evaluating procedure, Lukic explained.

Although the commission ruled that the procedure should be repeated, Belgrade Airport signed a deal with the top bidder, a consortium of Kolubara Invest Gradnja and two Italian firms.

Lukic explained that the commission was set up on January 17 and has handled 50 complaints so far, related to tenders for procurements worth a total €31.7 million. Of that number, 30 complaints were accepted, he added.

The value of the Belgrade Airport's procurement tender was €18 million, half of which was provided through a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, while the rest of the funding came from the state budget.

Public Procurement Administration Director Predrag Jovanovic said that the commission was set up according to the Law on public procurements, and warned that a disrespect of its decisions could cause serious damage to the state.

Jovanovic added that changes to the Law on public procurements, which were adopted in mid-2002, have enabled significant savings in the state budget, cutting spending on public procurements by nine percent in 2002, compared with 2001. It has been estimated that spending will fall by 13% in 2003, he added.