Sofia Municipality wins court case over Zone 1 cleaning contract

The Supreme Administrative Court has issued a final ruling confirming that the Sofia Municipality acted lawfully in terminating the public procurement contract for cleaning services in Zone 1. This zone encompasses the Sredets, Lozenets, and Studentski districts.

The municipality had previously canceled the procedure after bidders submitted excessively high prices, ranging from approximately 174 to 189 euros per ton, compared to the current rate of 106.86 euros per ton. Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev stated that the decision was made to avoid long-term contracts under monopoly conditions and prices that exceeded market logic.

This legal victory allows the municipality to announce a new procurement process for these three districts. The upcoming tender is expected to include stricter quality requirements, mandatory use of modern machinery, and increased penalties for non-compliance. The municipality maintains that waste collection and street cleaning in Zone 1 and Zone 7 currently continue according to schedule without risk to urban cleanliness.