Millions for noise barriers for companies without experience and owner with 'connections': Čović, Nikšić, Grabovica and Badžak in a tender trap

(Patria) - Public enterprise Autoceste FBiH could once again be under public scrutiny, as well as judicial bodies, due to the suspicious award of a contract worth 13,244,131.24 BAM including VAT for the construction of noise barriers on the Podlugovi – Sarajevo sjever section.

At first glance, this is another infrastructure project, but the details of this tender reveal serious suspicions of abuse of office, favoritism, and circumvention of the public procurement law.

One of the biggest complaints relates to the way the tender documentation was created. The conditions, according to all indications, were tailored so that only one bidder could meet them – the consortium Euro Sjaj d.o.o. Konjic and Coning d.o.o. Sarajevo – thereby eliminating the possibility of competition and opening the way for a direct contract award.



Doubts are further deepened by the fact that one of the owners of the company Euro Sjaj, Jasmin Badžak, shortly before the tender was announced, bought the company Coning, thus acquiring the necessary references to participate in the tender. Although Euro Sjaj primarily deals with galvanizing and metal protection, without experience in installing noise barriers, they formally met the tender requirements through the acquisition of Coning.

The entire case becomes even more intriguing when considering the network of connections between the actors. At the same address, Donje Polje no. 42, as Euro Sjaj, the company CTK is registered, owned by Haris Nikšić, son of FBiH Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić, and in which Elvedin Grabovica, former director of Elektroprivreda BiH and a close associate of Jasmin Badžak, was also a co-owner.

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Conflict of interest in Igman Konjic: Loan for Nikšić's private company CTK, but no business without Grabovica

By Amina Čorbo-ZećoThe news that the Ahmetlić family has decided to sell their stake in the company “Igman” Konjic has stirred up spirits in the defense industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is about a stake of about 30 percent of the shares of Igman, the largest company

One of the clearest indicators of the lack of market competition is the contract price. While contracts with Autoceste FBiH are usually concluded with a discount of 30-40% compared to the estimated value, in this case, the difference is negligible – only 230 BAM less than the estimated 11,320,000 BAM without VAT. It is clear that there was no real competition.

According to available information, Elvedin Grabovica played a key role in awarding the contract, who already has a history of joint activities with Badžak – from the unsuccessful management of FK Željezničar to the current lucrative construction projects. Besides them, Nermin Nikšić and Dragan Čović are also mentioned as political patrons of the project, whose influence on the distribution of large contracts in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina remains untouched.

(A. Čorbo-Zećo)