By KYIV. Dec 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – SOE Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine intends to purchase 1,016 pickup vehicles by March 15, 2024 for the expected amount of UAH 1.749 billion.
According to information in the ProZorro public procurement system, the corresponding open bids (with features) were announced on December 13.
The deadline for submitting proposals is December 27, the auction is scheduled for December 28, 2023.
The conditions provide for 100% post-payment within ten working days.
According to the technical specifications, vehicles must be all-wheel drive, with a load capacity of at least 800 kg, with a ground clearance of at least 180 mm, a body size of 1.4×1.5 m, and have at least four seats.
The vehicle must have a diesel or gasoline engine (the priority type of fuel is diesel) with a power of at least 120 hp, an automatic or manual transmission, be equipped with a full-size spare wheel, a jack, a set of driver’s tools, have power steering, and the ability to lock the transmission.
In addition, the vehicle must be equipped with a winch (preferably) and a towbar.
Warranty period should be at least one year.
According to a Defence Ministry’s statement on the Telegram channel, this is the first time the government has carried out such a large purchase of pickup trucks.
“The expected cost of pickup trucks was formed on the basis of commercial proposals from three official distributors. It includes the cost of some additional equipment (winch and towbar). The expected cost of one vehicle that meets the parameters can be no more than UAH 1.7 million, and an open tender will ensure that we receive the most advantageous offers,” the ministry said.
The Defence Ministry said it has introduced a new procurement system, according to NATO standards, and will now formulate procurement policy and exercise control functions. The Defense Procurement Agency is directly involved in procurement.
In turn, Director of the information and analytical group AUTO-Consulting Oleh Omelnytsky, recognizing the correctness and necessity of the Ministry of Defense purchasing a large number of pickup trucks, notes some “short-sightedness” of the tender conditions, in particular a very short delivery time.
“The winner has only two and a half months to fulfill the contract. Payment will be made after delivery of the equipment. This means that the manufacturer will not be able to order pickup trucks of the required design for production; we will have to look for something that is already ready-made in the world. And these are white red, silver pickup trucks, which then someone has to repaint. And that’s only if they can be found in such quantities and have time to bring them across blocked borders,” he said on Facebook.
In addition, according to the expert, fairly general requirements for pickup trucks can lead to the fact that, theoretically, any pickup truck present on the Ukrainian market, as well as one that has not yet been officially supplied, could fall under these criteria.
“The selection criterion will be only the price. As we see, some Chinese manufacturer who will provide the lowest price and has an unsold stock of cars somewhere near Europe will be able to win this tender,” he believes.
In general, according to Omelnitsky, only powerful operators who have the opportunity to contract such a number of pickups and have time to deliver them will be able to fulfill the conditions of the tender.
“Military equipment, this is a strategic issue, decisions here should be made not taking into account “who will sell it cheaper,” but for the years ahead. We don’t have enough of the case with MAZs, which were purchased for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, having driven our own KrAZ to bankruptcy. And it is advisable to maintain unification, concentrate on one or two brands in order to replace spare parts from damaged cars and be able to formulate a composition of spare parts for them,” he wrote.
