City testing potential interest in SPENS Novi Sad – Non-binding public call for PPP may be placed by end-summer

The City of Novi Sad wants to test the market in order to see if there are private companies interested in entering a public-private partnership in the PE Sports and Business Center Vojvodina (Sportski poslovni centar Vojvodina – SPENS).

Mayor of Novi Sad Milos Vucevic said that an international call for non-binding bids for companies interested in the PPP might be placed by the end of the summer.

– We want to test the market, to see if there are private partners interested in cooperation regarding SPENS, as this is our biggest challenge when it comes to the public utility sector, without it being financed from the budget again, reducing funds for other purposes – Vucevic said.

The contest should serve to show whether anyone is interested in this kind of deal at all.

That SPENS might get a public-private partner was announced by Vucevic in early 2018. He said at the time that the decision whether to provide more funds for SPENS needed to be made, as it would entail setting aside amounts of up to RSD 1 billion a year.

– Citizens see SPENS as one of the symbols of the city. If we want it to be such a symbol, we need to maintain it, which costs money and requires larger funds if we want to be more functional than it is. The second option is the PPP, and the third one a more radical measure – Vucevic said at the time.

Grad Novi Sad

JP Sportski i poslovni centar Vojvodina

SPENS

PE Sports and Business Center Vojvodina

public private partnership PE SPENS

Milos Vucevic

public private partnership

PPP

public private partnership in Novi Sad