The new auction for the lease of retail premises in the Duty Free zone of the Chisinau airport, previously announced in Moldova, has been suspended.
Director of the Public Property Agency (APP), Roman Cojuhari, told reporters about this, noting that this is due to the fact that the day before the Constitutional Court of Moldova declared unconstitutional the amendment to include the Chisinau airport in the list of objects not subject to privatization, which also made it possible to increase the lease period for commercial space at the capital's airport from 3 to 5 years old. Roman Cojuhari noted that the authorities will make other changes to the Law on the Management of Public Property and Its Denationalization, which will make it possible to extend the lease period for retail premises inside the Chisinau Airport from 3 to 5 years. Director of the Public Property Agency noted that the bill amending Annex No. 1 to the mentioned law, regarding assets not subject to privatization, is now being approved by the government. “Given that the airport is on this list, I suggested that the commission consider suspending the auction until this law is passed. If this law is adopted and the airport is on the list of assets not subject to privatization, then the 5-year rental period for premises will become real,” said Roman Cojuhari. The head of APP clarified that in this regard, the 3rd auction, launched recently after the failure of the previous 2, was suspended only for a while, until the adoption of a new version of the Law on the Management of Public Property and its Denationalization. As reported, on June 20, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the amendment to include the Chisinau airport in the list of objects not subject to privatization. This decision was made after considering a request from a group of MPs from the Bloc of Communists and Socialists, who challenged the relevant amendments to the Law on Management of Public Property and Its denationalization in the Constitutional Court. The changes stipulated that, in derogation from the provisions of the current legislation, a decision to include an object or state-owned enterprise in the list of objects not subject to privatization can be made by parliament even in the absence of a government proposal, if the relevant object is important for the security of the state in accordance with Article 5 of the Law on Review Mechanism for investments significant for state security if the state-owned enterprise operates in one of the areas significant for state security provided for in Article 4 of this law. Another amendment stipulated that the exclusion from the list of objects not subject to privatization, objects and state-owned enterprises provided for by the above-mentioned amendment, is carried out by parliament solely on the basis of a government proposal, accompanied by economic, budgetary, social and legal justification, as well as justification related to the absence of risks for state security. Representatives of the opposition appealed these amendments, noting that they were adopted in violation of the deadlines for registration in parliament, without submitting an examination and conclusion of the government, and without organizing public consultations. In particular, the change was registered the day before the law was passed in the second, final reading. In their opinion, the amendment completely changed the concept of the original draft and should have been considered and voted on in two readings. Earlier it was reported that a new, third, auction was announced in Moldova for the lease of retail premises in the Duty Free zone of Chisinau Airport, which will be held on new terms. According to the administration of the Chisinau Airport, in particular, in order to increase efficiency, the tender for the lease of unused assets, retail space for catering and specialized trade for the sterile zone, the Duty Free zone in the airport premises will be held according to new criteria. Specifically, the auction is divided into 2 separate lots by region: one lot for travel retail - Travel Retail (shops), and the other lot for food and beverages - Food and Beverages (restaurants). In addition, the number of airports in which participants must demonstrate their activity has been reduced from 10 to 7. The rental period for premises will be extended from 3 to 5 years. The mandatory criteria have also been reformulated and additional clarifications have been provided, leaving no room for interpretation. It was planned that applications for participation in the auction would be accepted from June 1 to June 24, dossiers would be reviewed on June 25–26, and a tender and announcement of the winner were scheduled for June 27. // 21.06.2024 - InfoMarket.
