​While the government on Friday decided to prohibit, with certain exceptions, the purchase, leasing or rental of cars by authorities, public institutions and state-owned companies, Hidroelectrica launched on Saturday an operational leasing auction of more than 200 SUVs, sedans, limousines and station wagons .

The company Hidroelectrica, the majority shareholder of which is the state through the Ministry of Energy, on Saturday, May 13, announced an open tender for the lease of 203 cars in the mode of operational leasing with the return of goods.

• “Taking into account the fact that the current operational leasing contracts expire, the transfer of cars is on January 6, 2024, the purpose of the purchase is to provide the necessary means of transportation of people – with a low level of emissions, by transferring the right to use the system of operational leasing to Hidroelectrica, the purpose of the purchase is to provide the necessary vehicles for carrying out current activities under the conditions of safe traffic on public roads.” it is shown in the specifications.

The self-financed contract has an estimated value of over 22.2 million lei and is divided into 4 lots as follows:

• Lot 1: 10 Limousine sedan cars
• Lot 2: 100 Type 1 SUVs
• Lot 3: 20 SUV 2 cars
• Lot 4: 73 cars of the broken type

The leasing contract includes insurance for each car separately, RCA insurance, as well as full CASCO for the entire period of operational leasing with a deductible of 100 euros per event.

Delivery of the 10 limousines included in batch 1 will be made within a maximum of 120 days from the signing of the contract, while the delivery of the other vehicles will be made on January 7, 2024.

All 206 cars will run on gasoline and meet the Euro-6 air pollution standard.

An exception to the “Austerity Decree”, which allows the state to buy hundreds of cars

Nowhere in Hidroelectrica’s tender documents is there any mention of a contract to be implemented through the Rabla program or to be financed by EU or PNRR funds.

This would be practically the only exception under which the state-owned energy giant would have the right to hold such an auction.

HotNews.ro reported on Friday that the government included in an emergency decree aimed at reducing wasteful budget spending a provision that would allow ministries and state agencies, as well as state-owned companies, according to some government sources, to continue tenders that have already started, and purchases directly from the car.

• The extraordinary resolution is published in the Official Gazette.

The exception is all purchases made through the Rabla program, which will practically continue.

Already on Friday, environmental protection agencies made dozens of such new direct purchases.

In addition, many tenders launched by ministries and agencies for the purchase of hundreds of cars also go through the Rabla program, despite the announcement by the Minister of Finance Adrian Cachiu to stop the procedures launched where no winners have been announced.

This exception for purchases through the Rabla Program was not provided for in the GEO project currently under public consultation, in which only purchases made under projects financed by non-reimbursable external funds and through the PNRR, as well as current government purchases, are exempt.

• Read more: Exception to the “Savings Decree” that gives ministries and state agencies the right to buy hundreds of cars

Photo source: Sonerbakir / Dreamstime.com