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“The six companies that have signed the memorandum, which have not been paid, see no other way out after all the failed efforts to reach an amicable agreement. We are forced to file lawsuits, although we prefer to mention the threshold of the work than the court to complete on time the construction of the biofuel unit of the Vilnius cogeneration plant ”, says Gediminas Gribulis, director of Tilsta. on behalf of the combined contractors.
According to him, the first lawsuit reflects the situation in which all Lithuanian contracting companies find themselves, with which the Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant company is not satisfied.
“Other companies that have signed the memorandum will initiate similar lawsuits, which are currently being prepared,” says G. Gribulis.
Photo by Tilsta / Picket of Lithuanian construction companies at Ignitis Group
VKG, owned by the state-owned energy giant Ignitis grup construida, was built by Polish boiler manufacturer Rafako, currently undergoing restructuring. However, Ignitis grupė terminated the contract with him in October, considering that the Polish company was neither financially nor technically capable of carrying out the work.
Ignitis grupė emphasizes that the Lithuanian companies do not owe it to him, but to Rafakas, with whom the Lithuanian energy company assures that it has settled.
“The Vilnius Cogeneration Plant, as general contractor, has signed an agreement with the Polish company Rafako, which is currently in the process of restructuring, and has fully paid with it for all the works duly carried out and approved and accepted by the engineer of the FIDIC. Rafako is in debt to its subcontractors, but the company has an approved restructuring plan and has provided a debt repayment schedule to its creditors, including subcontractors. To the best of our knowledge and belief, Axis Tech may also have agreed to this debt repayment schedule. ” 15 minutes in a comment posted to the Ignitis Group.
The company added that the Public Procurement Office has also commented on this issue.
Company photo / Ignitis Group
According to the agreement with Rafak, the Vilnius cogeneration plant has no legal basis to pay directly to the former Rafak subcontractors. Therefore, in our opinion, the claim is unfounded, ”Ignitis Group said in a comment.
He is accused of seeking profit
Axis Tech’s action asks the court to assess the situation in the context of public procurement law. It grants the right to demand direct payment for work performed and materials delivered to the biofuel unit of the Vilnius cogeneration plant.
Recently, the Head of the Public Procurement Office noted that the requirement to include in contracts an instruction for project sponsors to assume obligations to subcontractors is enshrined in EU directives and has been applied in Lithuania since 2017. July .
The contractors claim that although the contract for the Vilnius cogeneration plant and the general contractor for the project, Rafak from Poland, were signed earlier, the Vilnius cogeneration plant was aware of this requirement, but was not included in the contract. The contracts between Rafak and the subcontractors provide for this possibility.
“Tilsta” nuotr./Piketas
The lawsuit also alleges that the client maliciously sought maximum personal gain, despite such behavior causing huge losses to other parties.
It is noted that the general contractor of the Rafako project, faced with solvency problems, offered the Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant company to take over the relations with the subcontractors – to directly address the questions of payment for the work carried out.
“By accepting such a proposal, the Vilnius cogeneration plant would not only have ensured the continuity of the project of national importance, but would also have guaranteed the interests of honest subcontractors and remuneration for the work carried out,” the contractors say.
The lawsuit concludes that the Vilnius cogeneration plant, probably seeing the possibility of avoiding payment for work performed by subcontractors and materials delivered at the facility, as well as taking over the guarantee fund, rejected such an offer from Rafak.
The Vilnius cogeneration plant, after terminating the contract with Rafak, acquired LTL 15 million from the Polish company. a EUR performance guarantee contract. The Vilnius cogeneration plant has publicly announced that it has paid Rafako significantly less than the work carried out at the plant, according to contractors.
Axis Tech incurred $ 5 million in work and unpaid work. The Vilnius cogeneration power station was unjustifiably enriched to the same extent. There is reason to believe that the company did not pay Rafako for these works and is now refusing to pay Axis Tech, say the Lithuanian construction companies working at the power plant.
Six companies seek to recover the debt
Six delinquent companies of the Ignitis Group’s Vilniaus kogeneracinė jėgainė company, which performed contract work on the biofuel unit of the Vilnius cogeneration plant, signed a memorandum aimed at recovering the debt together.
These are the design, construction, concreting and power generation equipment companies Tilsta, Montuotojas, Axis Tech, Kaefer, Ulava and Elektrėnų Energetikos Remontas. In total, almost 11 million were left unpaid by these companies. euros.
In autumn 2020, the companies that stopped working at the power plant tried to reach an agreement with the Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant company by various peaceful means and continue to work on the biofuel unit of the Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant. According to them, judging from the communication of “Ignitis grupė”, the group will not pay the Lithuanian contractors and intends to announce a new tender for the construction of the power plant.
“By becoming a publicly traded company, Ignitis has committed to the principles of strict social responsibility and sustainable business. It is strange to see that the company is now choosing a judicial path that could extend the completion of the construction of the plant from energy indefinitely. Meanwhile, the unfinished power plant is not conserved and the new equipment is exposed to winter weather conditions outdoors, “says G. Gribulis.
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