Slovakia’s Defence Ministry plans to announce a new tender to rent the premises of the Vojenský Opravárenský Podnik (VOP) company based in Nováky, which mainly handles the disposal of old ammunition. The ministry has reportedly set the criteria for the tender, the SITA newswire reported.
Defence Minister Martin Glváč stressed that the government wants to “maintain state ownership” as well as employment in the firm. Moreover, the rent paid should cover the minimum costs of reconstruction, SITA wrote.
The ministry plans to finish the competition on September 15. The winning bidder should rent the VOP premises for 20 years.
Glváč said that several companies are interested.
“There were three to four companies interested in advance, but we cannot speak too soon [about the results] as it will be a really transparent selection procedure,” he said, as quoted by SITA, adding that both domestic and foreign companies had expressed an interest.
The final decision on whether to proceed with the rental will be made by the government at its next session, SITA wrote.
At the moment, the majority of VOP orders come from the Defence Ministry and its financing is secure only until the end of September. However, the minister said that the company is still working normally and remains a responsible trading partner.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
