Consulting firm: The company "Toškovići" will not receive any payment within the project

The expert consultant of the company "Vodovod i Kanalizacija" on the project of collection and purification of waste water in Podgorica, the German company "Fichtner Water and Transport GmbH" announced the termination of the contract with the consortium "Tošković - Tehnoput-MNE", which is carrying out part of the works on the secondary network. as part of the construction project of the wastewater treatment plant with the associated collector network.

The request for termination of the contract, as they recall from "Collection and purification of waste water Podgorica", came about after the institutions and creditors were informed about the final convictions of Ivica Tošković, the owner of "Toškovići", one of the two construction companies of the consortium in charge of works on part of the secondary networks.

The representatives of the NGO MANS sent a notification about this on July 28, after which the procedure for terminating the contract was initiated, which is still ongoing, since it is not a simple procedure.

The goal of the project holders is to overcome the problem so that it has minimal consequences for the implementation of the project, and in this they have the full support of foreign partners.

We are transmitting the announcement of the consulting company in its entirety.

"We, Fichtner Water and Transport GmbH, as a consulting firm that provides the aforementioned services to the company "Vodovod i Kanalizacija" doo Podgorica for the project of expanding the sewerage network and building a wastewater treatment plant in the Capital City of Podgorica, hereby confirm that the tender procedure for awarding the Contract for works on the extension of the secondary sewage network in Podgorica – Lot 1, the consortium "Toškovići doo – Tehnoput-MNE" were fully implemented in accordance with the conditions based on the tender documentation standards and the Guidelines for public procurement of the German Development Bank, KfW.

As part of the evaluation process, the bidder's qualification was confirmed in relation to the fulfillment of the following criteria:

• Nationalities; • Conflict of interest; • Eligibility in relation to KfW Bank; • State-owned entities.

Other criteria for confirming the bidder's qualifications refer to the previous non-performance of the contract, the bidder's financial situation, construction experience, as well as the bidder's ecological and social, health and safety experience and capacities. In addition, bidders are required to submit a signed Company Statement with the bid, confirming, among other things, that they have not been legally convicted for involvement in the work of a criminal organization and that they have fulfilled all obligations regarding tax payments. This is a necessary prerequisite for fulfilling the criteria for the award of the contract for the performance of works.

In the tender procedure, additional confirmations or submission of additional documentation by the bidder, which proves that the bidder's legal and fiscal status is in accordance with the above-mentioned eligibility criteria, were not overlooked.

The bidder "Toškovići" d.o.o., which applied to the consortium, fulfilled all the qualification requirements for and award of the Contract in accordance with the tender conditions, guidelines and rules of KfW Bank. Consequently, together with the Bid Evaluation Commission, we prepared and submitted to KfW for approval the Qualification Evaluation Report and the Bid Evaluation Report, proposing to award the aforementioned Works Contract to "ZU Toškovići doo – Tehnoput-MNE". doo The German Development Bank "KfW" gave its approval for both reports.

We were informed about the conviction of Mr. Ivica Tošković, the founder and representative of the company "Toškovići" doo Podgorica, on July 28, 2020, when "Vodovod" from Podgorica forwarded us an e-mail they received from the NGO MANS (Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector). As soon as we received confirmation of Mr. Tošković's conviction, we engaged in cooperation with ViK Podgorica, and in coordination with the German Development Bank took the necessary steps to terminate the contractual relationship between ViK and the company "Toškovići doo". The procedure for terminating the contract is ongoing and the company "Toškovići" doo will not receive any payment within the project," the announcement states.