TI BiH calls for oversight of multi-million tender in Banja Luka

According to the tender documentation, the contract worth 35 million Bosnian marks (approximately €17.9 million) was awarded to a consortium comprising Koncar d.d. Zagreb (lead partner), Somborelektro d.o.o. Sombor, Aviator Group d.o.o. Belgrade, and Dema & S d.o.o. Mostar.

The controversy arises from the fact that the project’s conceptual design and feasibility study estimated its value at around 13 million marks (approximately €6.6 million), with a six-month implementation period. Despite this, the City of Banja Luka announced that repayment would occur in 180 monthly installments (15 years), bringing the total to more than 35 million marks.

Concerns about the legality of the process intensified due to the tender requirement for bidders to prove technical capacity, including evidence of similar completed projects, valid licenses, qualified personnel, and appropriate equipment.

As part of its bid, Aviator Group submitted references from Elgra Vision d.o.o. Belgrade for three projects in Majdanpek, Nis, and Cacak. However, TI BiH’s review of Serbia’s Public Procurement Portal revealed that Elgra Vision could not have issued such confirmations, since it participated in those projects only as a subcontractor or consortium member, entities that, under the terms of those contracts, were not authorized to issue references.

In all three cases, Elgra Vision was not the main contractor and therefore could not independently verify the completion of similar projects, as required under the Banja Luka public lighting tender.

TI BiH also emphasized that the entire procurement, valued at over 35 million marks (approximately €17.9 million), should have been carried out as a public-private partnership (PPP) rather than a standard public works contract.

Under the ESCO model, private companies finance and maintain energy efficiency measures, and this model is explicitly defined by the Law on Energy Efficiency of Republika Srpska as a form of PPP. Such projects require a more complex approval process, including input from the RS Ministry of Finance, the relevant line ministry, and the City Assembly.

By proceeding through a standard procurement instead of a PPP framework, the City Administration of Banja Luka retained full control over tender conditions, bidder selection, and project evaluation.

“For these reasons, TI BiH has asked the Public Procurement Agency to conduct oversight of the procedure and determine whether the provisions of the BiH Law on Public Procurement were violated, as well as for competent ministries to assess whether this case actually represents a public-private partnership that falls outside the scope of the public procurement system,” TI BiH stated.