The document, signed by Deputy Head of the Government Office Nguyen Sy Hiep on July 10, conveyed the Deputy Prime Minister's instructions to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committee of Dong Nai province - the unit that took over responsibility from Binh Phuoc province after the administrative merger.
The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee to fully absorb the recommendations of the Ministry of Finance in the bidding inspection report, and at the same time direct strict handling of violations (if any), ensuring the contractor selection process is transparent and competitive, without group interests or delaying the project's progress. The implementation results report must be sent to the Prime Minister before July 20.
Bidding documents have many shortcomings
Previously, on July 5, the Ministry of Finance reported the results of the inspection of the contractor selection process. Through the inspection, the Ministry pointed out many errors in the bidding documents and the bidding evaluation process.
Specifically, the evaluation criteria related to building information modeling (BIM) are unclear and easily misunderstood. The expert team's evaluation is subjective due to the lack of specific technical basis. In addition, there is a lack of consistency in the evaluation of construction equipment between appraisal steps; the expert team does not consider the contractor's additional equipment even though there is no evidence of fraud - this is considered a violation of the principle of objectivity.
The Ministry of Finance recommends that investors consider replacing the current team of experts or hiring independent consultants to ensure impartiality when re-evaluating bidding documents.
Lowest bid rejected, contractor reacts
As reported, on May 26, Son Hai Group - one of the participating contractors - sent a document to the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province (now Dong Nai ) and relevant authorities, requesting clarification of the results of contractor selection for the package worth more than VND880 billion.
At the bid opening on March 17, Son Hai Group offered the lowest price – 732.2 billion VND – nearly 150 billion VND lower than the package price; at the same time, it committed to a 10-year warranty for the project – surpassing other competitors. However, the winning bidder was the consortium with the highest price – 866.4 billion VND. Son Hai Group believes that eliminating the contractor with the lowest price, along with a commitment to superior technical performance, is not transparent and causes a waste of budget.
On June 26, the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province issued a document confirming that the bidding process was in accordance with regulations, and that the elimination of Son Hai Group was based on the technical criteria clearly stated in the bidding documents. However, in the face of conflicting opinions and doubts from businesses, the Deputy Prime Minister still directed a re-examination of the entire process.
The inspection shows the Government's determination to strengthen discipline and transparency in bidding, especially for large-scale public investment projects. The results of the review will be the basis for handling responsibilities (if there are violations) and also the premise for rectification, avoiding creating bad precedents for similar projects in the future.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lam-ro-quy-trinh-chon-nha-thau-cao-toc-tphcm-thu-dau-mot-chon-thanh-post803494.html
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