The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) has extended until June 15, 2020, the deadline for submitting responses to invitations to participate in the process of inclusion on the shortlist of manufacturers of electric locomotives for upgrading the company’s fleet.

Ukrzaliznytsia announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.

According to Ukrzaliznytsia, the process of selecting the manufacturer of electric locomotives for upgrading Ukrzaliznytsia’s fleet was launched on April 28, when invitations to participate in the selection for inclusion on the shortlist were issued with detailed information about this phase of the selection process. "In accordance with the instructions contained in the invitation, Ukrzaliznytsia received numerous requests from interested manufacturers, including requests to extend the deadline for submitting responses to the invitation," Ukrzaliznytsia said in the statement.

According to Ukrzaliznytsia, the quarantine measures that have been introduced in most countries because of the coronavirus pandemic have complicated the process of preparing comprehensive responses to the invitation and their submission on a specific date.

"Taking account of requests from interested manufacturers and in order to expand the geography of participants, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia has extended the deadline for submitting responses to the invitation by three weeks," the statement said.

"To confirm their interest in participating in the process of selection for inclusion on the shortlist, manufacturers must send their responses to the invitation together with the accompanying documents by June 15, 2020 (by 17:00, Kyiv time) in accordance with the instructions," Ukrzaliznytsia said.

According to the statement, meeting this deadline for responding to the invitation is one of the key conditions for consideration of documents.

As the CFTS reported previously, Ukrzaliznytsia launched the process of selecting the supplier of electric locomotives in April. The level of localization of production in Ukraine will be at least 15%.