Uncompetitive and predetermined tenders for medical oxygen continue, MESSER wins 400 thousand euros in Korça!

The government continues to give millions of euros for medical oxygen without competition, in highly dubious procedures organized by the Ministry of Health and University, Regional or Local Hospitals. A clean scheme, where the two firms that "fill out" the documents and have similar jobs, have divided this market for years, eliminating competition and taking every penny signed across Albania.

Despite the fact that the controlling and law enforcement institutions are verifying some procedures, these hospitals are "obliged" to implement an instruction from the Ministry of Health that "orders" them to award the tenders to two companies; GTS and MESSER. In recent weeks, there was also an investigation by SPAK, as it checked several businesses and telephones, but so far the matter has remained pending.

But, on the other hand, these hospitals are "forced" to carry out procedures and declare these two companies the winners, as is the case of Korça Hospital. The oxygen tenders that this hospital carried out in recent days were predetermined, where the winner was the old "client" company MESSER.

Facsimile: Announcement of the winner of the tender with two lots for oxygen from Korça Hospital, where the only company in the competition was MESSER

According to documents available to VoxNews, the company MESSER has been declared the winner of two lots of the oxygen tender at the Korça Regional Hospital. The announcement of the winner was made on February 4, 2025, as it concerns the object "purchase of medical oxygen divided into lots, with a term of 12 months, where all conditions are defined". The first lot was gaseous oxygen, the second liquid oxygen. The value of both lots is 400 thousand euros.

"Through this form, we inform you that Messer Albagaz participated in this procedure for Lot 1 worth 13,824,000 lek. And, for Lot 2, Messer Albagaz worth 25,488,000 lek," these documents state.

So, no other firm participated in these procedures, as they are "excluded" from the instructions of the Ministry of Health or even from the criteria set for "similar work" by these hospitals. Since the winners are GTS and MESSER, these two firms have also shared the cake, where for example in Fier GTS wins and in Korça MESSER always wins, in both cases there is no competition!

Facsimile: Korça Hospital tender in 2020, worth 1 million euros

Above, we noted that there was no competition in the 2025 tender. Messer won a full 400 thousand euros. But who has won these tenders in the past? According to documents researched by VoxNews, in 2021 the same firm won the predetermined tender for the purchase of oxygen worth 1 million euros. One of the conditions of the tender was to place an oxygen deposit 10 days after the announcement of the winner. However, the Messer company had placed this deposit in mid-December 2020.

In the photo: MESSER company's oxygen tank located near the Regional Hospital in Korça

How could any other company win a tender, when an oxygen tank has been installed in the Korça Regional Hospital for many years?! The photo above is this tank, installed in December 2020. Every tender after this date has been won by the company in question, as no other company dares to participate, or is disqualified in the first stages for not meeting the conditions. A predetermination of the tender, where the facts are very open, as the responsibility falls on the Ministry of Health that issued the instruction, the hospitals and the companies themselves that make agreements with each other.

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Në foto: Depozita e oksigjenit e kompanisë MESSER e vendosur pranë Spitalit Rajonal në Korçë

Faksimile: Tenderi i Spitalit të Korçë në vitin 2020, me vlerë 1 milionë euro

Faksimile: Njoftimi i fituesit të tenderit me dy lote për oksigjen nga Spitali Korçë, ku e vetme në garë ka qenë firma MESSER