Anti-Trust Body Cancels Bulgartransgaz' Decision to Pick New Builder of Gas Pipeline
Bulgaria's competition authority said that it has cancelled as unlawful Bulgartransgaz' decision to disqualify the winner of a tender for construction of a pipeline for transit of gas from the border with Turkey to the border with Serbia, and pick a new contractor. Bulgartransgaz did not have legal grounds to disqualify Saudi consortium Arkad, as the Bulgarian state-owned gas transmission network operator had set the deadline for submitting the necessary documents and signing the contract without considering the consortium's arguments, the Commission for Protection of Competition said in its decision published on Friday. In May, Bulgartransgaz said it has disqualified the Arkad group and picked the second-ranked consortium comprising Italy's Consorzio Varna 1 and the Bulgarian branch of Luxembourg-registered Completions Development to build the 484 km-long pipeline. Bulgartransgaz said it switched its choice because Arkad had failed to present the required documents and sign the contract.