Filenews 29 April 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
Better luck was the offers for the lease of two firefighting aircraft on behalf of the Department of Forests, than those for the lease of two helicopters. Yesterday, when the deadline expired, it was found that three tenders had been submitted concerning the lease of two Airtractors of American origin, similar to those already available to the Department of Forests.
After this development, the contracting authority will start direct negotiations with the three companies that submitted tenders in order to select the most advantageous one, with the ultimate goal that the two aircraft will come to our island as soon as possible in order to be ready for the forest firefighting.
In the meantime, there is a problem with the alert system in the Department of Forests, as the director of the Department, Charalambos Alexandrou, told "F", due to lack of staff. He said that there are now interviews to recruit 111 forest firefighters, of whom 98 are destined for new positions and the rest for vacant ones. He stressed the need to strengthen the Department in order to cover the standby system for the hours after the end of the usual work period of the staff.
At the same time, tenders for the purchase of two firefighting planes that will strengthen the firefighting fleet expire in May, while an effort is being made to ensure the lease of two firefighting helicopters. After the failure of the second offer, since the only bidder was out of specification, the Department of Forests will ask permission for direct negotiations with all those who received the tender documents to determine whether there is ground for concluding an agreement.
Information from "F" from interested parties indicates that the tenders were delayed. They also said that the company that had been used for lease in recent years of two Russian Kamov helicopters, did not bid, not because of the sanctions against Russia, but because of disagreements that arose last year with the Department of Forests over the lease contract.
