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Leading Paint Manufacturer, Son Hai Group, Raises Concerns Over Missed Opportunity in $750 Million Project: Binh Phuoc Considers a Critical Issue.

1 June, 2025

Binh Phuoc Considers Son Hai Group’s Request for Re-evaluation of the Bid Package

On May 28, Mr. Pham Van Trinh, Chief of Office of the Binh Phuoc People’s Committee, informed the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper that the Provincial People’s Committee had received a petition from the Son Hai Group regarding the bid package for the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway project (the section passing through Binh Phuoc province).

In their petition, the Son Hai Group requested a re-evaluation of the bid. Regarding this issue, Mr. Trinh said that the provincial departments are currently advising the Binh Phuoc People’s Committee on handling and responding to the Son Hai Group’s request for a re-evaluation of the bid package.

Previously, Mr. Dinh Tien Hai – Director of the Binh Phuoc Province Project Management Unit, the investor of the project, also confirmed receiving a protest letter from the Son Hai Group regarding the bid evaluation results. Notably, the Son Hai Group claimed that the certificate of Mr. Vu Ngoc Tru – Head of the expert group evaluating the tender documents – had expired. However, Mr. Dinh Tien Hai asserted that this was not the case.

“The practicing certificate is valid for five years and can be renewed once. Mr. Tru’s certificate was recently renewed in 2023,” Mr. Dinh Tien Hai informed VTC News.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hai, Chairman of Son Hai Group. Photo: TN

Regarding this incident, which attracted public attention, the Binh Phuoc People’s Committee has requested the Project Management Board to promptly report specific details related to the Son Hai Group. At the same time, the Provincial People’s Committee also directed the Board to work directly with this contractor to promptly receive and resolve any reflected content (if any), ensuring transparency and objectivity in the bidding process.

The Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway project has a total investment of more than VND 17,400 billion, with an implementation period from 2024 to 2027, and a payback period of 32 years and 7 months. In the first phase, the route will have four lanes and will be expanded to six lanes in the next investment phase, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h.

What Would Be the Procedure for Re-evaluating the Bid if It Is Approved?

Accordingly, the re-evaluation of the bid will follow the regular bidding evaluation procedure based on the Bidding Law No. 43/2013/QH13, Decree 63/2014/ND-CP, and Circular 11/2020/TT-BKHDT.

Checking the Tender Documents (Evaluating Form and Technique)

Form Evaluation: Check the legality and completeness of the tender documents and verify the documents as required.

Technical Evaluation (Technical Content): Assess the level of compliance with the technical requirements specified in the invitation to bid, evaluate the capacity, experience, and technical approach proposed by the bidder.

Scoring the Tender Documents in Terms of Technique and Finance

For packages applying the method of selecting contractors through evaluating technical proposals and prices (for example, open bidding according to the technique and price scoring method):

The expert group scores the technical proposals according to the criteria announced in the invitation to bid.

Score the finances based on the bid price or the announced financial criteria.

Technical and financial scores are aggregated according to the specified ratio to rank the bidders.

For other selection forms such as online bidding, restricted bidding, or designated bidding, the process is similar but may differ in scoring criteria.

Compiling the Bidding Evaluation Results

The expert group prepares an evaluation report on the bidding results, including:

A list of bidders who meet the technical requirements.

Detailed scores for technique and finance.

Ranking of bidders based on total points or specified criteria.

Proposing the winning bidder according to the principle of selecting the bidder with the highest total score or the lowest price (depending on the bidding method).

Announcing the Results and Preparing the Bidding Report

The bidding evaluation report is submitted to the authorized person for approval of the contractor selection results.

The investor or the inviting bidder makes a decision to approve the contractor selection results.

Notify the bidding results to the participating bidders as prescribed.

Prepare minutes of bid opening, bid evaluation minutes, contractor selection report, and keep complete records for inspection and supervision.

Handling Complaints (if any)

Within ten working days from the date of receiving the notification of the results, bidders have the right to complain about the contractor selection results.

The inviting bidder or investor is responsible for receiving, handling, and responding to complaints in accordance with the Bidding Law and guiding documents.

On May 26, the Son Hai Group publicly released a letter protesting the contractor selection results for the construction of the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway, passing through Binh Phuoc province.

The company stated that they were disqualified from the construction package with a total investment of over VND 880 billion, despite offering the lowest price among the five bidders.

Specifically, the Son Hai Group bid at a price of over VND 732.2 billion, saving the state budget nearly VND 150 billion compared to the package price offered by the investor. In contrast, the selected unit, the HCM-TDM-CT Joint Venture, had the highest bid price of over VND 866 billion, with a savings of less than VND 15 billion. We were surprised by the decision to choose the bidder with the highest bid price, the Son Hai Group stated in the document.

In addition to the Son Hai Group, the list of unsuccessful bidders included many prominent names in the transportation industry. According to the investor – Binh Phuoc Province Project Management Unit – the reason for disqualifying these bidders was their failure to “meet technical requirements.”

However, Son Hai raised questions about the evaluation process, especially since the disqualified bidders were experienced and reputable enterprises in the field of transportation infrastructure construction.

Therefore, the Son Hai Group sent a petition to the Binh Phuoc People’s Committee, requesting a review of the tender document evaluation process and the contractor selection decision. At the same time, the company also sent documents to the central-level agencies to request supervision of the bidding process.