World Bank: Tamnava mine tender was in line with rules

World Bank: Tamnava mine tender was in line with rules

BELGRADE -- The tender called to select a company to pump water out of the Tamnava coal mine pit was in line with domestic regulations, the World Bank has said.

The project was financed from a World Bank loan, and required a tender, the international financial institution's Belgrade office said in a statement, and added that its experts reviewed the documentation, the process and all decisions in detail, and determined that everything was carried out in line with the valid regulations and practices.

The claim by the BIRN publication that the country needlessly spent more money that it had to by awarding the job "to a consortium with no experience" angered Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic

, who late last week referred to those who reported the story as "liars paid by the EU."

The report also said that among the companies given the Tamnava - West Field job was one "with connections" with Elektromreza Srbija (EMS) public company Director Nikola Petrovic, and another whose owner has been accused of tax evasion.

Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic reacted by saying that the tender did not violate any regulations, and that, as it required an international loan, it also required a tender.

"The best bidder was selected and the job has largely been completed, which is what matters the most to citizens," he said.

On Monday, Interior Minister and high ranking official of the ruling SNS party Nebojsa Stefanovic suggested that the authorities "did not allow a company whose offer was three times more expensive to win the tender" but instead gave the job to a domestic company, and thus saved "EUR 23 million of Serbian citizens' money."