Slovak News Back to the news
Figel: Rail Companies Overpriced Some Tenders by Over 600 percent
Tuesday 14 September 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, September 14 (TASR) - Some tenders at Slovakia's three railway companies - ZSSK, Cargo and ZSR - were overpriced by over 600 percent, Transport Minister Jan Figel (Christian Democrats/KDH) told a press conference on Tuesday.
Figel went on to accuse his predecessor in the ministerial chair Lubomir Vazny (Smer-SD). "The political accountability is clear," he said, adding that he'll have all suspect dealings looked into by the police.
The most extravagant cases of overpriced tenders were observed at Slovak Railways (ZSR), said Figel. ZSR only feigned adherence to laws governing public procurements, and market research carried out shortly prior to the launch of the tenders was fiddled. "I entertain serious suspicions that the list of companies stemming from this market research was then tweaked by the company's senior representatives," said the minister.
Subsequently, companies selected by the ministry's top officials were then excluded from competitions. According to Figel, as many as 90 percent of public procurements were won by just two companies - Stavstroj SK and Dever, with this being the case until the middle of July 2010.
All rights reserved. Any publishing or further dissemination of press releases and photographs from TASR's resources without TASR's prior written approval constitutes a violation of the Copyrights Act.
