Closer to the end of the competition for the supply of new green buses in Athens and Thessaloniki it is located Ministry of Transport and Infrastructureas a contractor for the supply of 200 compressed natural gas (CNG) city buses, 12 meters long, are also “locked”.

The tender for the supply of 650 new buses, aimed at updating the aging fleet of OASA and OASTH, started in October 2021, but is still ongoing after facing appeals from parts of the tender by bidders, appeals over the evaluation of financial proposals, exclusion of companies participating in the tender etc. The Turkish-Italian company Industria Italiana Autobus is acting as a temporary contractor for the supply of 200 CNG city buses, with a total offer of EUR 51.9 million including VAT.

At a later stage and before the contract is submitted to the Court of Accounts, ITA, as a temporary contractor, must provide electronically within 10 days after notification of the decision the necessary documents and supporting documents.

Due to the fact that the tender concerns a large number of buses, it was divided into 5 sections, in which interested parties submitted applications. The first part of the tender, during which there were hitches and appeals on the TOR, was finally declared invalid in May 2022. As for the rest of the tender, the Accounting Chamber has a contract for the supply of 250 simple 12-meter electric city buses, announced as the contractor by Yutong Bus, a company represented by the Kopelouzou group.

Also at the same stage is a contract for the supply of 100 compressed natural gas buses, the process was undertaken by the Italian-French company Iveco, represented by the Kontellis group. After the contracts are approved by the Accounts Chamber, they will be presented to the new parliament, as it will be formed after the elections, and 6 months after the final signatures, the first buses are expected to arrive in our country. Finally, China’s BYD’s bid for bidding for 100 12-meter-long urban electric vehicles is expected to be evaluated.