Centar za Lokalnu Samoupravu (CLS) has announced that the latest case of a bus fire in the Karaburma garage means that the Belgrade public transport company (GSP) is on the verge of collapse and that the city government is considering privatising the company.
This, as the CLS says, could explain a systematic devaluation of the company, in order to lower its price and prepare the public for the news that the company would be sold.
The CLS’ press release says that Gradsko Saobraćajno Preduzeće (GPS) recorded a loss of 1.52 billion dinars in 2019 and 2.13 billion in 2020, “although this was a consequence of the pandemic-related crisis”. This year, “significant losses” are also expected.
“The signing of the contract for Blus Plus 2 which made the company lose about 50 million dinars per month, the maintenance of vehicles being entrusted to unauthorised agents, buses are installed with unfitting Chinese spare parts, the gas-powered buses are purchased via a loan with a 5% interest rate, quite a few of Chinese and Turkish buses that the GSP owns cannot be driven in bad weather… These are the final nails in the coffin of the GSP Company,” the press release adds.
(Nova, 31.08.2021)
https://nova.rs/vesti/biznis/cls-sprema-se-privatizacija-gsp-beograd/
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