The "green light" for the signing of the contract for the assignment of 250 electric buses of the Chinese YUTONG BUS, which is represented in Greece by the Kopelouzou group, was given by the Sixth Level of the Audit Court.
The company had been declared the temporary contractor, with an offer price of €440,720, plus VAT, for each bus, with the total offer reaching €110.8 million, including seven chargers.
According to ERT, the Sixth Level of the Audit Court, in the context of the pre-contractual audit it carried out, decision 1113/23 approved the draft of the contract.
In this way, a very important part of the tender is progressing, which concerns its fifth section, for the purchase and maintenance for one year of 250 electric city buses, 12 metres long, with a range of 180 kilometres.
"Urban transportation, both in Athens and in Thessaloniki, is decisively turning to electrification. The decision of the Court of Auditors gives the green light for the signing of the first contract for the supply of electric buses in Greece. According to the offer of the contracting company, the 250 new buses will be delivered within six months from the signing of the contract," notes the General Secretary of Transport, Yannis Xifaras, speaking to ERT.
He added that "the signing of the first electric bus contract is simply the first step in the implementation of a package of commitments for urban transport".
It should be noted that the competition had started in 2021 and due to the large number of vehicles it had been divided into five divisions. The first part of the tender was declared barren as no bid was submitted, and it concerned the supply of 120 hybrid 12-metre buses, EURO VI category.
The remaining parts of the tender concern the supply of 200 simple 12-metre city vehicles , compressed natural gas (CNG) EURO VI category. In the supply of 100 18-meter articulated urban vehicles, compressed natural gas (CNG) EURO VI category, and 100 simple 12-metre electric vehicles with a minimum range of 135 km .
"We are moving forward to complete the next parts of the competition for 400 additional vehicles. Within this year, the preparation of the new tender for an additional 650 zero-emission buses will begin," concluded the General Secretary.
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