ENA interim manager announces launch of large-scale purchases for facility
YEREVAN, August 1. /ARKA/. At the beginning of next week, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC will officially launch several procurement procedures for large-scale design work, announced ENA interim manager Romanos Petrosyan.
"Before that happens, a request for quotations must be announced to accurately calculate the estimated cost of the goods to be purchased. Extensive explanatory work will be carried out to maximize the involvement of economic entities operating in the energy sector," Petrosyan announced in a Facebook post.
Petrosyan explained that these purchases are part of the design work outlined in the annual investment program, which has a budget of approximately 50 billion drams for the reconstruction and re-equipment of substations, construction of power transmission lines, and several tens of thousands of connections.
Petrosyan wrote, "Let me remind you that until now, work of this scale was carried out only by one company, occupying a monopoly position, at prices and on terms dictated by it."
On July 30, Petrosyan canceled four purchases worth more than 3 billion drams. He cited "systemic problems identified in the company's procedures, such as discriminatory technical conditions, non-inclusive and non-transparent processes, and biased approaches to preliminary pricing."
The owner of the ENA, Russia-based billionaire Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in June on accusations of calling for a power seizure after he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church in its conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration. Following the arrest, Pashinyan declared it was time to nationalize Karapetyan’s company, Electric Netwroks of Armenia, and the Armenian parliament passed laws allowing the state to seize it.
In response, the Karapetyan family filed a lawsuit at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), citing a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.
The SCC ruled that Armenia must halt any efforts to enforce the new legislation or confiscate the company, warning that such actions would hinder the family’s ability to recover damages if they lose control.-0-
