The Pljevlja Coal Mine (RUP) has signed a multi-million-dollar contract with the Serbian Electric Power Company (EPS) for the delivery of 100.000 tons of brown coal. The deal, signed on October 24, is one of the largest export arrangements in recent years and provides multi-million-dollar revenue to the largest Pljevlja-based company.
Under the terms of the agreement, coal will be sold at a price of 8 euros per kilojoule, which, according to the current calorific value, is around 80 euros per ton. Between 30 and 40 trucks will be delivered daily, and all coal will be weighed on the RUP scale.
This was officially stated by the company's director for "Vijesti". Nemanja Lakovic.
""We expect revenue of four to five million euros from this deal, which is one of Rudnik's largest contracts in recent times," Laković pointed out.
The total value of the contract, calculating 80 euros per ton for 100.000 tons, is around eight million euros.
According to the contract, the Mine is obliged to organize the transport of coal to the buyer, so a tender has been announced for the service of transporting coal to EPS with a total value of 3,6 million euros excluding VAT, or 4,356 million euros including VAT. Bids are due by November 26th.
This, says Laković, is one of the largest logistics purchases in the company's history.
The tender envisages the transport of coal from the “Doganje” separation plant and the “Maljevac” crushing plant to the landfills of the Nikola Tesla A Thermal Power Plant, TENT B, Morava and Vreoci Thermal Power Plants. According to the public invitation, the transport contract will be valid until March 31, 2026, and payment is made by bank transfer, within 30 days of issuing the invoice.
Companies that possess appropriate machinery, technical equipment and capacities necessary for timely and high-quality performance of coal transport services can apply for the tender.
The participant must have at least 40 freight vehicles - dump trucks, adapted for the transport of bulk cargo, with a gross carrying capacity of at least 32 to a maximum of 41 tons.
According to the tender documentation, the bidder whose bid is selected as the most favorable is obliged to submit, along with the signed public procurement contract, a bank guarantee for the proper execution of the contract in the event of breach of contractual obligations in the amount of 10 percent of the contract value, which would be payable on first call with a validity period that is 30 days longer than the expiration date of the contract, which RUP will activate at any time when one of the moments for contract termination occurs.
"The price of the subject of public procurement per unit of measure includes the costs of transportation, customs terminal, forwarding services in the Republic of Serbia, insurance costs of goods and other costs to the place of coal delivery. Final weighing will be carried out at the locations designated for unloading goods with the obligation to submit the weighing card from the final weighing to the RUP. If a deviation in the quantity of delivered goods exceeding 0,4 percent is determined in relation to the quantity received at the starting point, the carrier bears responsibility, including the obligation to compensate for the determined difference," the tender documentation states.
The company that gets the job of transporting coal, as stated in the documentation, must issue a waybill that will contain the name and surname and address of RUP and EPS, the type, content and quantity of the shipment, the place of delivery, the amount of the transportation fee, the place and date of issuance of the waybill.
"In the event of exceeding the established deadline for the execution of the public procurement in question, the contractor is obliged to pay RUP a contractual penalty of 0,5 percent of the contracted value of the services for each day of exceeding the contracted deadline defined by the manner and amount of the service provision on a monthly basis, the documentation states, adding that the amount of the contractual penalty cannot exceed five percent of the contracted price," the tender documentation states.
This is not the first contract between Rudnik from Pljevlja and Elektroprivreda Srbije. In May 2022, the then executive director Milan Lekic signed with the acting director of EPS Miroslav Tomašević coal purchase and sale agreement. At that time, the planned delivery was 300.000 tons of brown lignite, of which 40.000 tons in the first phase, at a price of 28,8 euros per ton for a thermal power of 8.000 kJ/kg.
However, the contract was not fully implemented. EPS unilaterally terminated it, stating that Rudnik had not provided a bill of exchange as security. The termination was the subject of numerous controversies at the time, with EPS claiming that Rudnik had violated its formal obligations, while Lekić stated that it was an “administrative misunderstanding” that could have been resolved by agreement.
Shortly thereafter, the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), following a criminal complaint from the Democratic Party of Socialists, launched an investigation against the management of the Mine, asking Milan Lekić to explain how the price of 28,8 euros per ton at which coal was sold to EPS was established. At the same time, the Special Police Department (SPO) seized complete documentation on the procurement of mining dump trucks, which raised additional questions about the business practices of the then management.
According to the contract, the Mine is obliged to organize the transport of coal to the buyer, so a tender has been announced for the service of transporting coal to EPS with a total value of 3,6 million euros excluding VAT, or 4,356 million euros including VAT. Bids are due by November 26th.
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