The Deputy Prime Minister requested clarification.

The Government Office has just sent a document to the Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV), the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises; the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Planning and Investment regarding the petition from the Hoa Lu Consortium concerning the consortium's capacity to participate in bidding for package 5.10 of the Long Thanh International Airport project, phase 1.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested ACV, the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises, the Ministry of Transport , and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to consider and resolve the aforementioned petition in accordance with the law.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested that ministries and agencies consider and resolve the complaints of the Hoa Lu Joint Venture regarding the bidding process for package 5.10 of the Long Thanh airport project. (Illustrative image)

Previously, the Hoa Lu Consortium had filed a complaint with the bidding authority, the Vietnam Airports Corporation, regarding the notification that the Vietur Consortium met the technical requirements (Notice No. 3146/TB-TCTCHKVN-LT dated August 1, 2023).

“We have evidence that the leading member of the Vietur Consortium violated bidding regulations and was not qualified to meet the technical requirements of Package 5.10, and therefore Notice 3146 needs to be reviewed ,” the document stated.

The Hoa Lu consortium stated that package 5.10, with a total estimated cost of 35,000 billion VND, is one of the country's major key projects, requiring careful consideration in selecting a contractor with sufficient capacity, free from a history of construction delays or suspected corruption.

The Hoa Lu consortium also stated that it has sufficient construction capacity and financial resources. Furthermore, they have studied the tender documents for over 14 months, so they fully meet the technical requirements of the tender.

However, on August 1st, the Hoa Lu consortium received notification that the Vietur consortium, led by IC Holding (Türkiye), had met the technical requirements.

Meanwhile, the Hoa Lu consortium assessed that IC Holding did not meet the technical standards to win the bid. This is because the Chairman of IC Holding Company had been involved in numerous corruption allegations.

IC Holding has a history of delays in construction projects, a history of major projects being terminated, and a history of litigation against investors.

Furthermore, the Hoa Lu Consortium also claims that IC Holdings' airport construction experience is inaccurate and shows signs of delays.

The document also raises several concerns regarding the Long Thanh airport construction project. Specifically, according to international practice of International Competitive Bidding (ICB), before making decisions on technical aspects that are flawed or unclear, the investor must publicly request the bidding company to explain and provide further information to ensure objectivity.

The application of a zero-point system needs careful consideration in accordance with international bidding regulations to avoid potential disputes later from experienced contractors, which could affect project progress and national reputation.

"The sole selection of the Vietur consortium for the financial bid review round could mean that the winning bidder was determined from the technical proposal review round, leading to a very high risk of not ensuring fair competition in pricing. This could potentially cause losses to the state budget and the people," the Hoa Lu document emphasized.

Previously, in response to VTC News, a leader of the Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) stated that the bidding process was underway, and therefore the company could not provide any information. These are confidential documents that ACV cannot disclose.

"We will only be able to provide official information after August 22nd. The contractor's capabilities are assessed by a team of experts and independent units; we are not involved," said an ACV representative.

Thanh Lam

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