May 5 (SeeNews) - Two candidates have submitted bids in Bulgaria's 28.3 million levs ($16 million/14.5 million euro) tender for the lease of two helicopters together with their crews to carry out flights for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), official data showed on Friday.
The tender has attracted offers from Italian airline Alidaunia S.r.L. and Spain-based aerial emergency services operator Avincis Aviation Espana, according to data published in the public procurement register. The proposed prices were not disclosed.
The flights will operate from two state-provided HEMS bases for two years, with a possibility for a one-year extension. Each base will have its own helicopter, crew and ground personnel.
The helicopters are expected to complete no less than 500 hours of flight time per year, including HEMS flights and transfers to and from other operational bases.
Bulgaria's transport minister Hristo Aleksiev said that the helicopters and their crews may be available as early as June, as seen in a video file published on the parliament's website on Friday. In March, Aleksiev said that the helicopter emergency medical services would be free of charge for Bulgarian citizens.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)