TI-Georgia: Georgian Railway’s Tender Allegedly Biased in Favor of Russian Companies
Georgian Railways’ GEL 184 million tender is reportedly biased in favor of companies holding certificates from the Eurasian Customs Union, claims local watchdog Transparency International / TI-Georgia.
On November 3, Georgian Railways announced a GEL 184 million tender for the acquisition of 10 electric vehicles. The application for companies opens from December 3 to 5, with the successful bidder obligated to deliver the vehicles by the end of 2024.
The documentation uploaded to the procurement website states that the company wishing to participate in the procurement must submit: “a certificate of compliance with the requirements of “НБ ЖТ ЦТ 04-1998” or “ТР ТС 001/2011” issued for the goods in question (“Safety norms for railway transport. Electric vehicles. “Certification requirements” or “Conformity with the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union”), which must be issued by an accredited organization provided for in the register of the Council of Railway Transport of the Commonwealth of Nations (CIS).
Customs Union refers to the Eurasian Customs Union, which is part of the Eurasian Economic Union (Eurasian Union) with members Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. With this record, “Georgian Railways” effectively has narrowed the circle of countries producing electric vehicles, says the watchdog.
TI-Georgia also says that Georgian Railways announced the tender under the special decree issued by the Georgian government specifically for Georgian Railways. “The special decree does not exempt “Georgian Railways” from the rational spending of funds and ensuring a fair and non-discriminatory approach to procurement participants,” – TI-Georgia notes, stressing that the tender issued on November 4 “directly violates the fair and non-discriminatory approach, since [Georgian Railways] in fact requires Russian certificate. It adds: “The procurer should pay attention to the qualification of the supplier [company] and the quality of the procured goods, not their origin.”
TI-Georgia recalls the similar case of 2021, when it was contacted by the Austrian company “GSL Steel Trade GmbH”, which claimed that the Georgian Railways had artificially limited competition using the same argument, requiring the certificate of the Eurasian Union. “Had this not been required, the Austrian company would have been able to bid… the Georgian Railways purchased Russian rails worth USD 17 million.”
TI-Georgia calls on the State Procurement Agency and the Georgian National Competition Agency to investigate the restrictive conditions of the tender and to take action in accordance with the law.
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