Yerevan Saves 175 Million Drams: Hakob Karapetyan Responds to Khajakyan's Statements

The head of the "Lus" faction of the Yerevan Council, Davit Khajakyan, recently commented on the municipality's announcement regarding the tender for 24 garbage trucks. Yerevan Mayor's spokesperson Hakob Karapetyan has responded to the remarks.

"Mr. Khajakyan writes, 'The technical specifications of the [tender] seem to be written specifically for that particular model of Kamaz and hinder the participation of other organizations in that tender.' First, let me remind you that the municipality recently announced a tender for the purchase of 24 garbage trucks aimed at properly organizing waste collection in Yerevan. As Mayor Hayk Marutyan stated, this is the beginning of a process through which the community will effectively become the city's second waste collection operator.

In reality, the municipality did not show any preferential treatment to any particular company when organizing the tender. The technical specifications included parameters, specifically the engine's power, which is adequate for the city's terrain, road conditions, and other waste collection circumstances. For instance, loaded trucks needed to be able to reach the landfill. The city could not alter those technical requirements to allow certain companies to participate. It is important to note that within the specified criteria, several other brands apart from "KamAZ" can fit, such as Iveco, Mercedes, Volvo, and other notable and less-known manufacturers. It is also worth mentioning that prior to announcing the competition for 24 trucks, the Yerevan municipality sent written notifications to more than 20 companies and representatives engaged in the production and import of specialized equipment, inviting them to participate in the tender.

Mr. Khajakyan asks, 'Why did the municipality specify the Euro-3 standard in the tender and not Euro-5?' First, let's clarify: The technical specification for the tender mentions a requirement for at least a Euro-3 standard engine. In other words, companies offering Euro-5 standard vehicles could also participate in the tender.

Furthermore, on average, there is at least a 7 million dram difference in cost between Euro-3 and Euro-5 standard vehicles. The Yerevan municipality has preferred the cheaper option, which, in its technical power, does not fall short of Euro-5 standards in any way. When calculating for 24 trucks, it results in a saving of 175 million drams.

As for the claim that the EAEU regulations prohibit the acquisition and operation of vehicles with Euro-3 standard engines within the territories of member countries, we note that under the additional agreement signed with Armenia, the technical regulations on the safety of wheeled vehicles take effect 60 months (5 years) after the signing of the contract, which was on May 29, 2014. This term has not yet expired.

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I want to emphasize once again that the tender for garbage trucks and any other procurement processes by the municipality in the previous months have been organized and conducted in accordance with the law. In any case, if there are doubts that violations occurred within the procurement process, then nothing prevents Mr. Khajakyan from presenting the facts to law enforcement and/or other competent authorities," said Karapetyan in his statement.