The Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, described the Centralized Purchasing Operator (power operator) as one of the model entities for the good management of public funds, emphasizing that it is making a revolution in the field of public procurement.

Gonxhja reacted after some news on the media about a tender for the cleaning service of the “Ali Mihali” Psychiatric Hospital in Vlora, describing them as untrue.

Earlier, the Centralized Purchasing Operator itself denied the news, explaining that the procurement procedures were carried out in full compliance with the law.

According to the statement, this tender was conducted in an open, transparent manner and full compliance with public procurement legislation.

“All economic operators who participated had the opportunity to compete and appeal equally, without any favoritism. The Public Procurement Commission has confirmed the regularity of the process. After the completion of the procedure by the Centralized Purchasing Operator, the Public Procurement Commission has reviewed and upheld the decision of our institution, confirming that the evaluation of the bids and the selection of the winner was made by the legal criteria and without any other influence”, the statement further states.

According to the Centralized Purchasing Operator, the winning bid met all legal and economic criteria. “The bid of the winning company was Lek 33,427,236 lower than the limit fund, representing a reduction of about 25%, which indicates an open and competitive competition. The documentation submitted by the winning operator was regular and verified by the relevant authorities, fulfilling all legal requirements. The allegations are untrue and speculative. No evidence or fact supports the speculations made”, the Centralized Purchasing Operator states.