SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 24 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria's defence ministry said it will hold direct talks with Sofia-based Aviostart for the supply of 10 engines for the aging Russian-made MiG-29 fighters of the country's air force for a total of 30 million levs ($16.68 million/15.32 million euro).
Aviostart, a private Bulgarian airline, holds a five-year licence for the transportation of defence-related products issued in September 2015.
“Aviostart is the only participant that has met the criteria of the defence ministry”, the ministry said in a notice posted last week on the website of the Public Procurement Agency.
The document specifies that preferably 4 of the 10 engines should be new, while the remaining 6 may be repaired ones.
The ministry cancelled the public procurement tender for the supply of engines for the fighter jets earlier this month and opted for direct negotiations with Aviostart.
"Due to the stated intention of the Air Force to achieve better conditions regarding the deadlines for the delivery of 10 engines for MiG-29s, the Ministry of Defence moves to negotiate directly with the participants in the procedure for the delivery of the engines," the ministry said in a statement explaining its decision at the time.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)