Belgrade in Motion: Fourth Signalization Tender Still Fits Only One Company, Group Says

A Serbian civic organization has accused Belgrade’s city traffic secretariat of repeating a tender design that, in its view, appears to fit only one company.

Belgrade in Motion said the fourth public procurement procedure for modernizing the city’s traffic-light system is worth about six million euros. The group said the conditions once again restrict competition and match Yunex Traffic d.o.o. Belgrade.

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One disputed condition was removed, but the essence remained the same. Four procedures, different versions of the tender documents, and each time we reach the same result: the conditions suit the same company.

The organization raised similar objections during the three earlier procedures. It said the tenders and some criteria were changed, and new procedures were opened, but the substance remained the same. One disputed requirement in the previous tender demanded that bidders have experience operating a system in a city with more than one million residents. That condition no longer appears in the latest documentation after proceedings before Serbia’s commission for the protection of rights in public procurement procedures.

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When this happens once, it can be called a mistake. When it happens four times on a job worth six million euros, the public has the right to ask whether the tender aims to select the best offer or a bidder known in advance.

“One disputed condition was removed, but the essence remained the same,” Belgrade in Motion said. “Four procedures, different versions of the tender documents, and each time we reach the same result: the conditions suit the same company.”

The group also said it had information that pressure was being placed on the commission to accept the disputed conditions and allow the procedure to continue. It called on commission members to base their decision only on the law, the tender documents and the facts, without political or other influence. Belgrade in Motion said the public should also know who sets the conditions and who would be held responsible if they continue to be repeated.

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Because of the seriousness of this information, we call on the commission members to make their decision solely on the basis of the law, the tender documents and the facts, without any political or other influence.