The Sofia Municipality announced new public procurement for maintenance of the city's green system - with a significant expansion of the scope and increased requirements for contractors in terms of equipment and qualified personnel. For the first time, they include school yards, children's and health facilities, social homes, as well as cemetery parks, emphasizing the municipality's commitment to improving the green infrastructure throughout the city.
The order is for a period of two years with the possibility of extension by two more, has 30 separate positions and its total estimated value for 24 months amounts to 59,680,000 leva. excluding VAT.
Here are the main changes compared to the previous maintenance:
Significant expansion of the scope: The maintained areas are increasing by 3000 decares, including for the first time 3 large cemetery parks and 459 municipal schoolyards, children's and health facilities, as well as social homes. This expands the scope of the intensively maintained green system in the city, after Vasil Terziev's team cleared the overgrown vegetation in the large cemetery parks for the first time in decades.
Increased number of separate items: The order is divided into 30 separate items, which aims to increase competition and the quality of execution. They are territorially distributed by regions, grouped into the following categories:
13 zones with parks and gardens
2 zones with special-purpose parks (cemetery parks and Zoo)
2 zones Forest parks and Nature Park “Vitosha“
4 zones with tree plantations
4 zones with courtyards of municipal schools, children's and health facilities and social homes
5 zones with transport routes
Increased requirements for contractors for higher quality: The municipality sets higher requirements for the companies that will carry out the activities, in order to significantly improve the quality of maintenance and the efficiency of work.
Requirements for equipment: Stricter requirements are being introduced for the availability and type of specialized equipment, necessary to carry out all activities – from mowing and pruning to waste removal and repair of park infrastructure. This will ensure faster and better performance of tasks.
Personnel requirements: The requirements for the appointment of qualified personnel with proven experience and expertise in the field of landscaping and landscape architecture are increasing. Companies will have to prove the presence of specialists capable of performing the activities professionally and on time.
Competitiveness measure: In order to ensure greater competitiveness and give more companies a chance, each company can apply for up to 3 positions. This measure encourages the participation of diverse contractors and prevents monopolization of the market, which leads to better prices and higher quality of services.
The subject of the contract covers a wide range of maintenance activities, including biological and domestic cleaning of parks, gardens, green areas along transport routes and tree plantations. Among the main activities are:
Mowing lawns, collecting and removing cut grass
Pruning shrubs, undergrowth and shoots
Cutting and planting trees and shrubs
Planting flowers
Collecting noise, maintaining cleanliness and removing collected waste
Sculpting alleys and squares, raking lawns, digging up roses and shrubs
Uprooting (crushing) tree trunks, grassing
Repair activities of park elements and infrastructure.
With the new orders, the Sofia Municipality aims to provide better quality, more comprehensive and more effective maintenance of the green system, contributing to a cleaner, beautiful and healthy urban environment for all residents and guests of Sofia.