Clarifying the process of selecting contractors for the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh expressway

In response to the complaints, recommendations and signs of irregularities in the process of selecting contractors for the construction package of the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway (section passing through the old Binh Phuoc province), Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has just issued an urgent directive, requesting a review of the entire bidding process to ensure transparency, fairness and prevent negativity.

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 taking over responsibility from Binh Phuoc province after the administrative merger.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the People's Committee of Dong Nai province to fully absorb the recommendations of the Ministry of Finance in the report on the inspection of bidding work, and at the same time direct the strict handling of violations (if any), ensuring the process of selecting contractors is transparent and competitive, not allowing group interests or slowing down the project progress. The report on implementation results must be sent to the Prime Minister before July 20.

The 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 process of evaluating the bidding documents.

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 evaluating 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 price was eliminated, contractor reacted

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 VND 880 billion.

At the bidding 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, 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 skills, is not transparent and causes waste of the 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 review results 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.

TO PHUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lam-ro-quy-trinh-chon-nha-thau-cao-toc-tphcm-thu-dau-mot-chon-thanh-post803494.html