The contract to concede the Chisinau International Airport was signed with violations of the legislation. The tender contest was won by the association of legal entities Khabarovsk Airport and Kolomenschii Zavod, but the concession contract was signed with another legal entity - SRL Aviainvest, which didn’t take part in the contest and didn’t prove that it meets the conditions for obtaining such a contract, said the leader of the Party “Action and Solidarity” (PAS) Maia Sandu, who noted that this violation is sufficient for invalidating the contract, IPN reports.
According to Maia Sandu, after the banking frauds, the concession of the Chisinau International Airport is the second mysterious affair on which the government refuses to shed light. “In the case of the banking frauds, the government at least declares that those involved in the theft will be identified and penalized and the money will be recovered. In the case of the airport, the subject is not even discussed even if there is serious evidence showing that the concession contract was signed with violations of the legislation,” said the PAS leader.
PAS member Sergiu Litvinenco noted that the obligations of the sides are clearly defined in the concession contract only for the first years of execution. The contract does not provide how it can be modified and if it can be modified.
“The second problem is related to article 24 of the contract. This provides that the state will be able to terminate the contract only if the concessionaire does not fulfill its obligations during 36 months of the violation of the contract. Thus, if it’s ascertained that the investor does not fulfill the contractual obligations, the state cannot end the contract as it must wait for three more years to be able to do this. With such a provision, the termination of the contract is practically impossible as any contractual obligation can be fulfilled by the concessionaire within this period,” stated Sergiu Litvinenco.
The modernization tax of €9 paid by each of those who reach the waiting hall of the airport to leave the country is another signaled problem. This tax will be used during the 49-year period stipulated in the contract. “The inclusion in the contract of this tax is abusive, while the provision by which the Government pledged to maintain it during 49 years is illegal. Why? Because the Law on Civil Aviation says that this tax is approved by the Ministry of Transport, at the suggestion of the Civil Aviation Authority, not by the Government, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Economy, as it is provided in the Government decision,” said Sergiu Litvinenco.
According to the calculations done by PAS, the concessionaire will collect €784 million from this tax and this is more than the €540 million that SRL Aviainvest pledged to invest during the whole concession period.
