FACTOMETER
en
ру
հյ
Yerevan Municipality has acquired 2 new cars at the expense of the municipal budget with a total cost of AMD 67 million (USD 174 thousand). Both are electric cars, one of which is designated for Mayor Tigran Avinyan.
The Fact Investigation Platform studied the ToR, the entire procurement process, and the contracts, revealing that the procurement tenders organized by the municipality are essentially a formality, and the ToR for the cars was drawn up specifically for those cars.
Electric Mercedes-Benz for Mayor of Yerevan
The municipality has acquired a new car at the expense of the municipal budget of Yerevan at a cost of around 33 million AMD (85.7 thousand USD) to be used by the Mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan, (electric Mercedes EQE 500).
For that purpose, a digital auction was held, the only participant of which was “Eco Motors Group” LLC. The procurement contract between Yerevan Municipality and this company was signed on August 26 (contract value – AMD 32 million 987 thousand).
For the procurement of the “Mercedes EQE 500” SUV, the municipal authorities presented a ToR in the procurement offer, in which the specified standards coincide with the parameters of this car brand.
Thus, in the procurement offer, the mayor expressed a desire to have an electric car which will have 4880mm x 2032mm x 1679mm (l/w/h) external dimensions. Wheelbase shall be 3030 mm, body: SUV (sport utility vehicle), all-wheel drive, 5 seats, automatic transmission, 96.1 KW battery, 408 hp and 858 N/m, mileage on a single charge – 609 km, charging AC 220V 10-80%, maximum 13 hours.
In this screenshot of the announcement about the signed contract, the first column contains the technical parameters of the procured car, and the second column contains the parameters required by the Municipality.
We have highlighted in yellow the parameters that could be different, but still within the permissible limit. For example, a minimum length of 4,880 mm was set for the length of the car, that is, if the proposed car was even a little more than the required length, for example, 4,900 mm, it would meet the required standards.
However, by an interesting coincidence, all the parameters of the winning car exactly match the required ones. Even the minimum requirement of 160mm of clearance was presented by the tenderer exactly as Yerevan Municipality defined in its ToR, namely, “at least 160mm”. However, the client can use the minimum or maximum term to define this component, but the supplier cannot use it in this case, because it is about a specific car make with specific parameters.
In open sources, “Mercedes EQE 500″ is described as follows: “4880 mm long, 2032 mm wide and 1679 mm high, and the wheelbase is 3030 mm. The battery is 96.1 KW, the power is 408 hp, the body is SUV, the number of seats are 5”. In other words, these are exactly the same parameters as outlined in the ToR of the procurement tender.
The Fact Investigation Platform/Fip.am sent a written inquiry to the Yerevan Municipality to find out why there was a need to buy a new electric car. The press service of the Municipality answered that the “Mercedes EQE 500” electric car will be used by the Mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan. “Tigran Avinyan did not have an official car both during his time as deputy mayor and after being elected mayor of Yerevan. He drove and still drives his own car.”
We asked several questions about the standards mentioned in the ToR for the procurement of the car, in particular, on who drew up the ToR and based on what standards, whether the car market was researched and other brands of cars with the same technical specification were identified, and we also asked to explain why each parameter in the ToR was chosen.
The Municipality sent a very general answer, informing that the technical characteristics of the car were compiled by the Supply and Technical Service Department of the Staff of the Municipality.
“The standards were developed taking into account the activities of the mayor of Yerevan, and accordingly, the minimum required conditions for movement. In other words, a specific car was not selected for which a technical specification would be developed, but a technical specification was developed in accordance with our standards and ideas, which, according to procurement legislation, was presented for a transparent digital auction, after which the winning company presented an offer for a Mercedes EQE 500 electric car, which met the minimum requirements presented in the ToR,” the Yerevan Municipality added in the written response.
Another expensive car for guests
On August 29, three days after Tigran Avinyan signed a contract to procure a car, the Municipality signed a contract to procure a new electric car. This time, Yerevan Municipality acquired a “Zeekr 009 black” electric motor car for about 34 million AMD (88.2 thousand USD), and, as informed by the Yerevan Municipality, it will “mainly serve the official delegations in Yerevan”. This time the procurement was made through “Muran” company.
As in the case of the car procured for Tigran Avinyan, the technical parameters of the car offered by the winning participant completely coincide with the parameters requested by the Municipality.
To the written inquiry by the Fact Investigation Platform/Fip.am on why there was a need to acquire the “Zeekr 009 black” car, the Yerevan Municipality answered that it is a representative car, and it will mainly serve the official delegations in Yerevan, therefore, the choice was made based on those criteria.
In the ToR requirements, it is defined that it should have minimum dimensions: 5200mm/2020mm/1840mm. We asked the Municipilaty whether a market research was carried out when setting these standards since more than one car meets such standards in Armenia. The Municipality did not provide the results of any study, but instead stated that the technical specifications for the selection of the vehicle were developed “taking into account the minimum conditions necessary to ensure the movement of official delegations.”
“Once again, we should mention that a specific car was not selected, in connection with which a technical specification would be developed, but a relevant technical specification was developed, which, according to the procurement legislation, was submitted to a transparent digital auction, then the winning company presented a proposal for a “Zeekr 009 black” brand electric car, which met the minimum requirements presented in the technical specification.”
The Yerevan Municipality simply did not respond to our observation that our questions are based on the requirement of the RA Law on Procurement, and to the question on how this provision of the law was observed.
Violation of law, restriction of competition and formality-based tender
Thus, the technical specifications of the two vehicles recently acquired by the municipality exactly correspond to the specifications set by the Municipality, and if we add to this the fact that only one company participated in both tenders, it becomes obvious that the technical specifications of the vehicles were written specifically for these cars. As a result, the relevant provision of the Law on Procurement was violated, namely, the standards are discriminatory and restrict competition. According to the same law, the specifications of the object of procurement shall ensure equal conditions of competition for potential participants and shall not lead to the emergence of unreasonable obstacles to competition in the procurement process.
Moreover, the description must be objectively justified and adequate to the need for which the procurement is being made.
In the case of both tenders, the municipality did not justify how it determined, for example, the minimum requirement for the external dimensions of the car, or why the car must have a minimum range of 700 km per charge and a panoramic roof, effectively depriving other potential suppliers of the opportunity to participate in the tender. Moreover, the Municipality actually confirmed that no market research was done.
Thus, in these two procurement processes, the municipality apparently violated a number of provisions of the Law on Procurement, did not ensure competitiveness and compiled the technical specifications of the vehicles for a specific product.
By the way, within the framework of public procurement oversight activities, we asked the permission of the Yerevan Municipality to see the cars, but the municipality declined our request, citing that the delivery-acceptance process was over and “it is not possible to provide access to the car.
Hasmik Hambardzumyan
Sevada Ghazaryan
