The Ministry of Defense announced today that it has concluded a purchase of 14.000 sets of military uniforms.
For the amount of 840.000 euros, Macedonian Army (ARM) should receive sets consisting of a hat, coat, and pants that were manufactured in accordance with its specifications. The acquisition, which main criterion was the lowest price, was given to a company from Shtip, and the material and the uniforms will be made by a company from Istanbul, Turkey, who is a subcontractor, as it is indicated in the Agreement.
The Ministry of Defense published the advertisement on the 18th of September, and all of the participants were obliged to submit specimens in order for the quality to be determined.
The uniforms acquisition is part of the “merchandise and services” category for which the MInistry for Defense will receive 30 million euros next year. With this sum, the military will be purchasing boots, food, spare parts, to pay for training and education for the members of ARM. It is one of the bigger categories in the army’s budget for 2019, that, as was announced by the Minister of Defense, Radmila Shekjerinska, is one third bigger than the previous year.
– Last year, the defense budget was increased by 15% while the increase in 2019 as compared to the rebalanced budget for 2018 will be over 33% – said Shekjerinska.
In the budget that is planned for next year, which is approximately 135 million euros, ARM will have more assets for equipping and modernization. This item has been increased from the current 10 to 15 % or more than 20 million euros. With these assets, as was announced by the minister, the process of modernizing the army will star, starting from the units that were planned for participation in international operations.
