Interested companies must submit the required documents by 30 March 2026. After the tender concludes and the contract is awarded, the timeline is tight: the winning bidder must deliver 30 battery-electric buses and 15 charging stations within six months, a further 60 electric buses and 30 charging stations within 12 months, and the remaining 60 vehicles and 30 charging stations within 18 months.
The tender specifies that the electric buses must have a minimum range of 325 kilometres and a minimum battery capacity of 360 kWh. The supplier is also required to provide a four-year warranty on the buses and batteries, as well as a ten-year supply of spare parts. The 75 charging stations must each offer a minimum output of 120 kW.
The contract is valued at over 3.1 billion denars excluding VAT, equivalent to approximately €50.9 million euros. According to the Ministry of Transport, the procurement of battery-electric, environmentally friendly buses represents a clear political commitment to environmental protection and improving public transport efficiency in Skopje and other municipalities.
In addition to the environmental benefits, the Ministry expects the new buses to deliver long-term economic viability through lower maintenance and energy costs. The procurement of electric buses and charging stations is part of a strategic plan to transform the urban transport system and enhance the efficiency of the transport network.
Neighbouring Serbia is also expanding its focus on electric buses. Belgrade has ordered 100 new electric buses from the Chinese manufacturer Higer for the three-month-long world exhibition next year. Fifty of these will use batteries, while the other 50 will rely on supercapacitors for energy storage. The buses will remain in use for public transport after the exhibition.
balkangreenenergynews.com, seenews.com, mtc.gov.mk (tender in Macedonian)