Investigating Tender Irregularities in Binh Phuoc: Vice-Premier Heeds Son Hai Group’s Appeal Let me know if you would like me to incorporate any keywords or adjust the tone to match a specific style guide.

Deputy Prime Minister Directs Review of Contractor Selection for Highway Project

On May 29th, the Government Office issued a document conveying Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha’s directive on the selection of contractors for the highway construction package under the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway Project in Binh Phuoc province. The project is under the management of the Binh Phuoc Provincial Project Management Authority.

Accordingly, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the Ministry of Construction to immediately establish a joint working group. This group will inspect the process of selecting contractors for this package, ensuring fairness, objectivity, transparency, and economic efficiency. It will also uphold the principle of maximum decentralization to local authorities, who will be responsible for their decisions and actions.

The focus of the inspection will be on the tender documents, evaluation of bids, handling of complaints during the bidding process, and the expertise and experience of the evaluation team, among other necessary aspects. The inspection must be completed and reported to the Prime Minister before June 10th.

The Deputy Prime Minister also instructed the Binh Phuoc Provincial People’s Committee to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction. Additionally, they directed the project owner, the bidding invitation agency, and the evaluation team to promptly provide complete reports and relevant documents.

Previously, the Son Hai Group had objected to the results of the contractor selection for this project. They offered the lowest bid, amounting to over VND 732 billion, saving the state budget more than VND 148 billion. However, the contract was awarded to a consortium with a higher bid of over VND 866 billion.

The construction package for this project was openly bid domestically through a network, attracting five participants. Besides the winning consortium, there were two independent contractors, Son Hai Group and Cienco4, and two other consortia.

Son Hai Group submitted the lowest bid of over VND 732 billion (saving 16.8%), followed by Cienco4 with VND 800.6 billion (saving 9%). The other two consortia bid VND 836 billion and VND 854 billion, respectively. However, these four bidders were disqualified for failing to meet technical requirements.