The deadline was January 28 deadline for submitting bids of open European competition for the selection contracted maritime carrier, which will provide passenger ferry service between Cyprus and Greece.
According to Cyprus's Deputy Minister of Shipping, Vasilis Dimitriadis, this initiative has borne fruit, as it has attracted the interest of economic actors.
He attributed the interest shown by carriers to the renegotiation of the terms with the European Commission and the redesign of the tender document.
The new lowest-bid tender It had a happy ending, as three companies expressed interest in the project in question ferry connection.
It should be noted that the previous tender issued by the Deputy Ministry of Shipping to attract ferry companies to operate the Cyprus-Piraeus route had failed, as no interest had been expressed.
This time, the three companies that have expressed interest are SCANDRO HOLDING LTD, whose bid amounts to 15,594,000 euros, the N.Y. BUSINESS TIES LTD whose bid amounted to 14,100,000 euros and the KIARA NAFTIKI ETAIRIA (SeaJets Group) which offered 16,500,000 euros.
It should be noted that the line is subsidized with 5.5 million euros per year for three years (for a total of 16.5 million euros).
It should be noted that this tender was announced on November 25, 2021, and interested economic operators submitted their bids through the website of the Public Procurement Directorate of the GeneralGeneral Accounting Office’s e-procurement website.
Vasilis Dimitriadis also stated that the bids submitted will be presented to the Cyprus Evaluation Committee, which was established in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation, for evaluation, with the aim of awarding the contract as soon as possible, and estimated that by the end of February or early March there will be an official announcement regarding the award of the contract, while passenger service is set to begin this coming April or May. It should be noted that It is up to the carrier that is selected to decide whether to use the port of Limassol or Larnaca.
It is worth noting that The last time there was a ferry connection between Cyprus and Greece was 21 years ago.
