Bid history
On May 12, 2023, the Department of Health approved the list of contractors meeting the technical requirements for the construction of the Quang Nam Traditional Medicine Hospital. On May 31, 2023, based on the proposal of the bidding party, the Department of Health approved the ranking list of construction contractors.
The consortium of Meico - Loc Phuoc Thinh - Dai Thien Phat - Handaco ranked first with a bid price of over 68.6 billion VND after discounts, followed by Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company with over 76 billion VND and Phat Dat Limited Company with nearly 77.3 billion VND.
The consortium of Meico - Loc Phuoc Thinh - Dai Thien Phat - Handaco was selected. However, this contractor failed to provide sufficient bidding documents during the verification process and did not attend the deadline for submitting additional documents (June 30, 2023).
The bidding party decided to invite the remaining two bidders to the Department of Health (on July 13, 2023) to sign the verification minutes and the contract negotiation minutes.
However, only Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company participated. The bidding party announced that Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company had submitted all necessary documents after verification and successfully negotiated the contract.
The difficulty in verifying the contractor selection for this tender package stems from an "unforeseen" situation that occurred during the selection process.
According to Mr. Mai Van Muoi, Director of the Department of Health, the tender package posted on the national bidding system was over 85.6 billion VND (construction nearly 57.8 billion VND, equipment 11.5 billion VND...). The tender package updated on September 7, 2022, was over 73.98 billion VND (construction over 60.54 billion VND, equipment over 8.57 billion VND).
However, the procuring entity has not yet published the updated price of this bid package on the national bidding website. The procuring entity failed to comply with the agreements between the parties (investor, procuring entity, project management, appraisal consultant) regarding the content of working with the other two bidders (to inform them of the updated price of the bid package, not to negotiate the contract), and issued and published the invitation letter late, leading to misunderstandings and complaints from the bidders. The Department of Health has sent a document to the Department of Planning and Investment requesting guidance on handling this bidding situation for the construction package.
According to the inspections conducted by the Bidding Monitoring and Inspection Team of the Department of Planning and Investment, in response to the Department of Health on August 28, 2023, the bidding entity violated regulations regarding the posting of bidding information and the timeframe for evaluating e-bids.
The bidding party's handling of the situation was inconsistent with the investor's directives, and the validity period of the bidders' electronic bids had expired. The Department of Planning and Investment advised the Provincial People's Committee, and the Provincial People's Committee instructed the investor to review, decide, and carry out the procedures for canceling the tender and reorganizing the selection of contractors for the construction and equipment installation package of the Quang Nam Provincial Traditional Medicine Hospital, specifically the 100-bed patient treatment area, the herbal medicine processing area, and other auxiliary items, in accordance with legal regulations, ensuring competition, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency in the bidding process.
Will right and wrong be decided by a trial?
On March 18, 2024, the Department of Health issued a decision to cancel the tender. Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company reacted by submitting a petition. This contractor argued that this case did not fall under any circumstances for tender cancellation. The contractor's technical and financial documents had been evaluated and deemed satisfactory. The contractor had been invited to negotiate a contract successfully.
However, after negotiations concluded and the contractor waited but received no information about the contractor selection results, the Quang Nam Department of Health canceled the tender citing "handling the situation." Phuong Dong Technical Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company argues that the decision to cancel the tender was incorrect and requests its annulment.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, Head of the Technical Department of Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company, said that the investor's cancellation of the tender was illegal because they could not provide any legitimate reason. They claimed to be handling the situation. But if they were handling the situation, why did they invite other contractors to negotiate the contract?
"Eastern has completed the verification process and sent a discount letter based on the adjusted unit price, but why did they unilaterally cancel the tender? The reason given for the cancellation was to handle a situation, but the specific details were not stated," Mr. Thanh said.
The Department of Planning and Investment has found numerous obstacles in the contractor selection process. The project owner failed to publish the contractor selection plan within the stipulated timeframe. Furthermore, the information published in the contractor selection plan was inaccurate, such as incorrect project owner names and incorrect approval dates.
Failure to update information on the contractor selection plan on the national online bidding system when adjusting the contractor selection plan. Failure to update the bid package price on the national online bidding system when approving the bid package price update.
The evaluation period for the E-HSDT (Electronic Bidding Documents) lasted nearly 8 months, failing to comply with regulations. The procuring entity did not request the other two bidders to submit their bids but instead proceeded with negotiations with Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company, which is inconsistent with the investor's directives on handling situations in bidding and the procuring entity's handling of the situation does not fall under the guided procedures for handling such situations.
The Department of Planning and Investment responded to the contractor Phuong Dong on June 5, 2024 (signed by the Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Quang Thu), clarifying several points. According to the Department of Planning and Investment, the department's inspectors have drawn up a record of administrative violations and issued an administrative penalty decision against Toan Thanh Consulting Joint Stock Company (the bidding party) with a total fine of 50 million VND.
The People's Committee of Quang Nam province has requested the Department of Health to conduct a review of the responsibilities of individuals under its management in monitoring, managing, and organizing the bidding process, failing to promptly report, handle, and rectify issues that led to the bidding party acting improperly, and failing to promptly consider and resolve the contractors' requests.
The Department of Planning and Investment acknowledges that the errors and violations by the bidding party and the investor in the contractor selection process for the aforementioned package are irreparable. The Provincial People's Committee has agreed to assign the Department of Health to review, decide, and implement the procedures for canceling the tender and reorganizing the contractor selection process in accordance with the law, ensuring competition, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency in the bidding process.
The Provincial People's Committee also requires the investor and the bidding party to be responsible for compensating any damages (if any) to the relevant parties in accordance with the law on compensation for damages and other related regulations due to errors and violations of bidding laws.
According to the Department of Planning and Investment, the tender notice and contractor selection process took place in 2023, therefore the deadline for resolving complaints regarding the aforementioned tender package has expired. The Department of Health canceled the tender on March 18, 2024. If the company believes its legitimate rights and interests have been affected, Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company has the right to file a lawsuit in court.
The investor claims the cancellation of the tender was justified, while the contractor claims it was. This matter may require a court hearing for a clearer resolution. Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, Head of the Technical Department of Phuong Dong Infrastructure Construction Joint Stock Company, stated that the investor's unilateral cancellation of the tender was illegal and violated regulations. Even the bidding authority stated there was no reason to cancel the tender. The contractor is awaiting the completion of legal documents and procedures by their lawyer to file a lawsuit against the investor.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/goi-thau-thi-cong-va-lap-dat-thiet-bi-cong-trinh-benh-vien-y-hoc-co-truyen-quang-nam-huy-thau-dung-luat-hay-khong-3136574.html
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