TAIPED rejects Russian take on Trainose tender process
Privatization fund (TAIPED) President Stergios Pitsiorlas responded promptly to a challenge from the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, regarding the sale process for railway operator Trainose, refuting the Russian official’s accusations about a poor supply of information.
A few days after the completion of the tender for Trainose, Belozerov told the Interfax news agency in Russia that his company did not receive equal treatment during the tender and that TAIPED deprived the Russian Railways of the chance to have an in-depth picture of Trainose. He also claimed that winning bidder Trenitalia received favorable treatment and added that without Trainose, the Russians do not have a serious interest in Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH) anymore.
Pitsiorlas responded in a letter to Belozerov, speaking of “inaccurate information” about the two Trainose tenders. He insisted that the Russian company had full access to data since the first tender in 2013, and a full picture of the scope and limitations of the two procedures.
The TAIPED head also stressed that Russian Railways was fully aware that the process for the sale of OLTH was completely separate to that for Trainose or railway carriage maintenance company Rosco, so they could not form the package of one process as that would violate the European legislation.
