The Ministry of Health has announced the tender (PDF) for the concession of laboratories for all laboratories in the country, at the price of 13 billion lekë (~€95 million). The tender will be for ten years, costing the Albanian state €9.5 million per year. Nonetheless, the 2017 draft budget only has reserved €7 million for the hospital laboratory concession.
The selection criteria for the winner of the concession leave ample space for wiggling room. The technical criteria, making up 70% of the total points, are very often subjective in nature.
Moreover, the announcement specifies that any party who wants to appeal the concession verdict taken by the Public Procurement College, will have to pay a fee of 26 million lekë (~€200,000). This fee makes it practically impossible to file a complaint, as there is no guarantee for either a fair hearing or the desired outcome, all at a price tag of €200,000.
With this final concession in a total of four large concessions handed out by the Ministry of Health since the beginning of the Rama government – free healthcare check, sterilization, hemodialysis, and laboratories – the total annual costs for the government, for the next ten years, will be €33 million.
