Photo form UNIAN
The company is ready to pay EUR 3.22 million for the consulting services.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklii says the ministry has called a tender to hire consultants to the national railway operator PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia, along with Germany's Deutsche Bahn, which may provide services in a consortium with other companies.
"We have announced a tender to buy consulting services, and we are selecting a consultant. In addition to Deutsche Bahn, many more consultants could bid. I know that seven companies are ready to offer their services," he told Liga.net on February 12.
Read alsoUkrainians to keep managing Ukrzaliznytsia, but with possible support of Deutsche Bahn managers
The announcement has been placed in the ProZorro e-procurement system with an expected price of services set at UAH 86 million, or EUR 3.22 million. According to the tender documentation, Ukrzaliznytsia is looking for at least 10 consultants with experience in implementing projects to improve the railways' operational performance. Noteworthy, consultants must be fluent in Ukrainian or Russian.
Answering a question from a journalist about the price, as EUR 1.5 million was earlier mentioned, the minister explained that it was Deutsche Bahn's bid alone.
"Now we are talking about broader cooperation. Some work can be done by Deutsche Bahn, while other things by other companies. Deutsche Bahn has wide expertise, but not in all areas... There may be a consortium. I can't say what will be the figure [price] at the close of bidding and what formulas are used to calculate it. This is within Ukrzaliznytsia's competence," he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, on February 5, Ukraine's joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia signed a memorandum of cooperation with the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and its subsidiary, DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH (DB E&C).
UNIAN memo. Deutsche Bahn AG is one of Europe's largest railway operators, which transports about 4.6-4.8 billion passengers and 270-290 million tonnes of cargo annually. The holding includes more than 300 different divisions and individual enterprises. The company pursues an active policy to expand its business in Europe, constantly invests in the acquisition of new companies and the expansion of its activities. Deutsche Bahn's revenue in 2018 was EUR 44 billion, EBITDA was estimated at EUR 4.7 billion, and profit at EUR 542 million.
Ukrzaliznytsia is a joint-stock company wholly owned by the state. The company is included in the list of state enterprises that are not subject to privatization. The Ukrainian railways account for 82% of freight transportation and for about 50% of passenger traffic by all types of transport. It ranks fourth on the Eurasian continent, following railway operators of China, Russia, and India, in terms of cargo transportation volumes.