“Invaders of the road transport market” are trying to take 1.2 billion from Nizhnevartovsk. The project to renew the vehicle fleet found the interests of officials
More than a billion rubles for updating the Nizhnevartovsk bus fleet can be given to a single supplier without any competitive procedures. In this connection, such a scheme was chosen has not yet been officially announced, however, industry experts do not rule out that the initiative comes from officials of district structures.
Speaking about such a scenario, experts pay attention to the potential sole supplier – the Samara company Avtomaz. As it turns out, she has connections with the Domtransavto company from the Moscow region, which previously received the unofficial status of “invader of the Ugra road transportation market” from Khanty industry specialists. In addition, insiders focus on the conditions announced by the company: the price is higher than that of competitors, and the characteristics of the equipment, apparently, are much worse. The publication’s interlocutors are confident that blocking the contract with Avtomaz is possible only with the direct activity of the professional community, which has already provoked interest in the conflicting side of the transport reform of the FAS and prosecutors. In the meantime, officials are preparing for the Ugra operational headquarters, which will likely again outline the circle of interested parties.
The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug authorities intend to approve a single supplier for the purchase of a fleet of buses for Nizhnevartovsk. The issue is proposed to be discussed at a meeting of the operational headquarters of Ugra chaired by Deputy Governor Alexei Zolotukhin. According to insiders in the district government, the Samara company Avtomaz is currently being named as the main contender for the role of the sole supplier, which, apparently, has not delivered a single bus to date.
“If you look only at open sources, the reliability of this company is questionable. For example, the list of types of activities of the organization does not include OKVED for trade in motor vehicles. The number of employees is only 2 people. At the same time, the company does not have an official website, but there is information about the suspension of transactions on bank accounts. Another interesting fact is that Avtomaz entered into a dealer agreement with Raritek Automobile Plant LLC only at the end of August,” the publication’s interlocutors argue.
According to official documents provided at the headquarters, it is planned to purchase about 76 buses from a single supplier. Most of them – 45 pieces – must be delivered to Nizhnevartovsk before February 1, 2024. The cost of this contract is estimated at 742 million 500 thousand rubles. The second part – 31 buses – is planned until July 1, 2024. According to preliminary estimates, it will cost the budget 511 million 500 thousand rubles.
Meanwhile, market participants believe that the city authorities, as well as curators in the region, had other options. As an example for comparison, industry workers cite the official dealer of NefAZ since 1996. At the same time, the Avtosbyt company gave the best offer both in price and product quality.
“For example, NefAZ suppliers gave a price of 16,470,400 rubles per bus, but their offer was not taken into account, since the guaranteed delivery period is until March 1. It is proposed to bring to the headquarters exactly the proposal of Avtomaz – 16 million 500 thousand rubles for one Lotos bus. You must understand that “Lotos” is not a large-capacity bus, as it is positioned everywhere. It is 2 meters shorter than NefAZ. And in many other characteristics it is inferior to the products of the Neftekamsk Automobile Plant. The delivery dates, February 1, 2024, also raise doubts. It takes much more than 4 months to produce 45 buses,” representatives of the professional community share information.
Market participants also note that the visible connections between Avtomaz and the founders of Domtransavto LLC, a company that among the regional professional community has already received the unofficial status of “invader of the road transportation market,” are also noteworthy. Let us recall that at the beginning of September information appeared that the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Department of Road Management intends to introduce a potential monopolist into the market. It was assumed that the arrival of the new company would take place as part of transport reform.
“Then, in negotiations with local transport companies, it was not hidden that passenger transportation would be transferred to Domtransavto, but after the information became public, the position of the department and the main executor of the declared reform – First Deputy Director of the Road Services Department Andrei Serednev – changed radically. It is now stated that there will be competitive bidding. However, interested officials among officials have apparently found a new way to bring a probably friendly company into the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug market,” industry experts share their opinion.
According to the Kontur.Focus system, the 100% founder of Domtransavto LLC is SamaraAvtoGaz LLC. At the same time, Alexander Viktorovich Sudakov is indicated as the ultimate owner of both companies by 99%. He also appears as the former founder of Avtomaz LLC, a company that is undergoing the approval procedure for a single supplier.
“Now they are trying to hide these connections in the interests of individual managers. Government officials have already received a complaint from the prosecutor’s office for the Department of Road Administration’s delay in paying the district’s carriers. The materials of the supervision audit will also be assessed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. Another question is whether antimonopoly officials will deal with the story with a single supplier. It all depends on the activity of regional market participants. There is 1.2 billion rubles at stake. Most likely, part of the funds will have to be paid from the budget of Nizhnevartovsk. At the same time, the mayor of the city, Dmitry Koshchenko, probably heard about the existence of Avtomaz for the first time, but it is the mayor who will have to defend the interests of this company at the district headquarters,” summarize the publication’s sources immersed in the process.
