Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court has ruled for good that Sofia municipality was within the law when it cancelled the public procurement tender for street cleaning in Zone 1, the municipality said. The zone covers the Sredets, Lozenets and Studentski districts.

The ruling lets the municipality launch a new tender for the three districts.

The case is part of the giant tender for cleaning Sofia, in which the municipality threw out bidders with opaque offers. In Zone 1 and Zone 7, only one candidate was left, and the prices they asked for were far too high. The municipality cancelled the procedure and did not sign 5-year contracts, which it says were a bad deal.

The bidders asked for between 340 and €189.18 (370 leva) per tonne (from €174 to €189). For now, both zones are served under contract annexes, at €106.86 (209 leva) per tonne (€106.86).

Mayor Vasil Terziev said the court's decision shows that the municipality's consistent position was sound in both legal and economic terms. "We refused to sign long-term contracts under monopoly conditions and with offers priced several times above market logic," he said.

"We did not bend under pressure and we proved that Sofia municipality will set the rules in the interest of citizens and will not accept blackmail," Terziev added.

The municipality says cleaning in Zone 1 and Zone 7 is not at risk: rubbish is collected and streets are cleaned on schedule.

In the new tender for Sredets, Lozenets and Studentski, the municipality will set even higher quality requirements. Firms will have to use modern equipment, clean more with machines and pay higher penalties if they fail to meet the terms.