The Polish branch of Nuctech, previously removed from tender to supply scanners at Lithuanian airports due to national security concerns, has won a contract to supply x-ray equipment on the country's border with Belarus.
Last week, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said that the Kena crossing point on the border with Belarus needs to have an x-ray machine as soon as possible. The scale of cigarette smuggling has been increasing, with observers saying that the Minsk regime is profiting from the illicit trade going via Lithuania.
"Now that we have the winner of the public procurement procedure, [...] the decision will probably be made this week or next whether we can buy our machine from the Chinese manufacturer," Darius Žvironas, head of the Customs Department, told BNS.
According to Žvironas, the contract is unlikely to be signed, meaning that a new tender will have to be announced.
"If the country's policy is headed toward focusing on security, then I believe we will not be able to buy the x-ray machine [from Nuctech Warsaw] and the tender will be repeated," Žvironas said.
Read more: Lithuania steps up rail freight checks amid rise in cigarette smuggling from Belarus
According to the director-general, the department received two bids, but only Nuctech Warsaw's offer met the tender requirements.
He noted that there are alternatives to Chinese x-ray machines, including those made by French or US companies.
Rasa Jakilaitienė, spokeswoman for the prime minister, said that the commission vetting strategic deals should announce its conclusion on Thursday.
After Nuctech was barred from the airport tender, the Chinese company dismissed national security concerns, saying that its equipment is produced in Warsaw "under the strictest applicable EU and national performance and safety standards".
Critics say that Nuctech's "extreme low-level pricing strategy" suggests that its motives are not commercial but rather "an interest to control strategic EU infrastructure and data driven knowledge", according to the Wall Street Journal.
Read more: Lithuania moves to block Chinese scanners at airports over security fears
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