The report was very slow and did not fulfill its responsibilities.

The Government Office has just issued a document conveying the directive of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha regarding the inspection of the contractor selection process for the construction package of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway project section passing through Binh Phuoc province (now part of Dong Nai province).

Accordingly, in the directive dated May 29th, the Deputy Prime Minister requested a reporting deadline of June 10th, but the Ministry of Finance only submitted its report on June 19th, which is very late. The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Finance to "learn a valuable lesson from this experience".

Furthermore, the report and recommendations did not accurately reflect the responsibilities and functions of the state management agency regarding bidding; and did not comply with regulations on inspecting contractor selection activities.

The report also fails to specifically state and analyze the inspection results, nor does it include conclusions and specific recommendations for the inspected unit or recommendations for the competent authorities.

Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister requested an assessment of both the competence and experience of the expert team. However, the Ministry of Finance only checked the bidding certificates and assigned the Project Management Board the responsibility of ensuring the competence and experience of the expert team members... which is considered "not fulfilling its responsibilities".

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Perspective view of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway project section passing through Binh Phuoc province. Photo: Project Management Board.

Despite directives requiring a comprehensive review of all aspects related to contractor selection (such as bidding documents, bid evaluation results, handling of complaints, etc.), the Ministry of Finance only briefly concluded that "the expert team's evaluation 'did not meet the requirements'," lacking specific analysis.

Request a report to ensure the project progress is not affected.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Finance to promptly submit a clear report and specific, well-defined recommendations in accordance with its functions, duties, and regulations, including a detailed report on four key issues.

Firstly, it is necessary to assess whether the content of the E-bids complies with regulations, especially regarding whether the BIM content leads to different interpretations; whether the bidding includes symbols, codes, labels (if any), and origins of materials and equipment; and whether the standards for evaluating equipment capacity and technical equipment assessment are consistent. If there is inconsistency, will it affect the results of the E-bids evaluation and distort the contractor selection results?

Secondly, check whether the expert team's and the investor's evaluation of the E-HSDT (Electronic Bidding Documents) ensured objectivity, consistency, and accuracy; compare the detailed evaluation report of the expert team with the overall evaluation report; and examine whether the expert team's failure to clarify the accuracy of the E-HSDT evaluation results is a valid issue.

Thirdly, regarding the competence of the expert panel, the Ministry of Finance must provide a comprehensive assessment of their capabilities, not only based on certificates, but also on practical experience, the number of members, and the consistency of their reports.

Finally, a thorough evaluation of the contractor selection process is necessary to determine whether it is accurate, transparent, fair, and effective.

Specifically, there needs to be clear and concrete recommendations regarding the next steps, such as: whether to continue signing the contract with the selected contractor, or what specific content needs to be finalized by the investor, the bidding party, or the expert team, or what other necessary measures need to be taken.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province (now the People's Committee of Dong Nai province) to finalize the report and submit it to the Prime Minister before July 5th, to avoid delays that could affect the project's progress.

In addition, the People's Committee of Dong Nai province directed the investor, the Project Management Board, and the bidding expert team to coordinate promptly with the working group to provide documents and resolve requests in accordance with regulations.

The Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway project passes through Ho Chi Minh City (approximately 2km of access roads), Binh Duong province (52km long), and Binh Phuoc province (7km long) with a total investment of 1,474 billion VND. The section through Binh Phuoc province has been under construction since December 2024.

The construction contract for the section passing through Binh Phuoc province has an estimated cost of over 880 billion VND.

Following the bidding process on March 17th, the Truong Son - Thanh Phat consortium was selected with a winning bid of 845.4 billion VND, saving over 35 billion VND compared to the initial estimate.

However, the remaining four bidders, including Son Hai Group Co., Ltd. (Son Hai Group) - the unit that submitted the lowest bid (over 732 billion VND), were disqualified for failing to meet technical requirements.

The investor claims that Son Hai did not meet the requirements for materials and equipment; did not meet the requirements for the organization and implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM); and did not meet the requirements for machinery and equipment for construction.

Subsequently, Son Hai Group, one of the five bidders, submitted a petition disagreeing with the disqualification result, despite offering the lowest price.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/pho-thu-tuong-phe-binh-viec-bao-cao-vu-tap-doan-son-hai-truot-thau-rat-cham-2417399.html