site.btaContractor Selected for Waste Collection in Six Boroughs

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev announced here Thursday that a contractor had been selected for waste collection in Zones Two and Five in the capital. Terziev was speaking at a briefing of the Sofia Municipal Council.

These zones include the suburban boroughs of Iskar, Kremikovtsi, Pancharevo, Vrabnitsa, Novi Iskar and Bankya.

The selected contractor is BKS-Chistota, which offered prices of BGN 325 and BGN 348 per ton for waste collection in zones two and five, respectively.

"I hope we will be able to enjoy the holidays much more peacefully, knowing that we will not be buried under mountains of rubbish and that, if it snows, we will be able to enjoy a real winter without worrying about public transport", said the Mayor. He explained that there is a ten-day period during which the choice of contractor for the two zones can be appealed after which a contract can be signed.

In the meantime, Sofia Municipality will try to talk the selected contractor into lowering its price, said the Mayor.

He also announced that Sofia Municipality had issued an order to extend the contract term for zones one and seven. Zone One covers the central boroughs of Sredets and Lozenets, as well as Studentski, while Zone Seven covers the Vazrazhdane, Oborishte and Triaditsa boroughs in central Sofia. He expressed hope that a contract would be signed in the near future.

Terziev said work is underway to sign a long-term contract with the municipal company Sofekostroy for zone six (Krasno Selo and Lyulin). According to him, all the necessary equipment for ensuring regular, high-quality cleaning of Lyulin and Krasno Selo boroughs should be available by January 15. He added that decisions by the Commission for Protection of Competition are awaited for the third zone (Poduyane, Slatina, and Izgrev) and the fourth zone (Serdika, Ilinden, and Nadezhda). 

For two months, waste collection has been disrupted in the Sofia boroughs of Lyulin and Krasno selo, affecting some 300,000 residents after the Sofia Municipality refused to sign a new contract over inflated prices.