The Paint and Sea Corporation’s Protest Against Tender Results: Binh Phuoc Provincial People’s Committee Refutes All Claims.

The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province has issued a response to a petition submitted by Limited Company Son Hai Group (also known as Son Hai Group) regarding allegations of irregular bidding practices, which could potentially result in significant financial losses for the state budget, pertaining to a construction package of the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway project, passing through Binh Phuoc Province.

According to the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province, the electronic bid submission (e-BSV) of the contractor failed to provide complete and adequate information as required by the electronic invitation for bid submission (e-IFS). Specifically, in April 2025, the Binh Phuoc Province Project Management Authority (project owner) sent a document to the Bidding Management Department (Ministry of Finance) requesting guidance on bidding procedures.

The Bidding Management Department provided guidance and confirmed that if the e-BSV of the contractor does not specify the signature, code, label, and origin of materials and major equipment as required by the e-IFS, it shall be considered invalid. Based on this, the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province affirmed that the assessment of the project owner and the bidding specialist group, which deemed Son Hai’s e-BSV as unqualified, was in accordance with regulations.

Additionally, the decision made by the bidding specialist group to implement Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the construction package during the construction phase and their assessment that Son Hai’s e-BSV did not meet the BIM criteria set out in the e-IFS was in line with the regulations.

Regarding the assessment that Son Hai did not meet the requirements for construction machinery and equipment for the contract package, the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province stated that the requirements set by the bidding specialist group for the inspection documents of machinery and construction equipment in the e-BSV were entirely objective.

Out of the 12 pieces of equipment included in Son Hai’s e-BSV, some of the inspection documents were issued by the City Industrial Equipment Technical Safety Inspection Joint-Stock Company. However, according to a guiding document from the Vietnam Register issued to Binh Phuoc Province, the name of this company is not listed among the organizations certified as meeting the conditions for technical safety inspection in the field of transportation.

The inspection and testing certificates of the 12 construction machinery and specialized vehicles in Son Hai’s e-BSV did not conform to the prescribed format.

The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province affirmed, “The assessment of the bidding specialist group, which deemed that Son Hai’s e-BSV did not meet the requirements for machinery and equipment, is in compliance with the Law on Bidding No. 2023 and Decree No. 24/ND-CP dated 2024 of the Government.”

The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province also refuted the allegations made by Son Hai Group regarding the professional practice certificate of the leader of the bidding specialist group related to the bidding evaluation of the project.

Prior to this, Son Hai Group had submitted a petition to the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province, protesting the results of the contractor selection for the Ho Chi Minh City – Thu Dau Mot – Chon Thanh Expressway construction package (Binh Phuoc section).

In the document, Son Hai Group stated that five investors participated in the bidding for the project, including Son Hai Group with a bid price of over VND 732.3 billion; Cienco4 Group (UPCoM: C4G) with a bid price of over VND 800.7 billion; IB2500057961 Consortium with a bid price of over VND 804 billion; Binh Phuoc Expressway Consortium with a bid price of over VND 836 billion; and HCM – TDM – CT Expressway Consortium with a bid price of over VND 866 billion.

The leadership of Son Hai Group expressed surprise that on May 22, the project owner selected the bidder with the highest bid price, the HCM – TDM – CT Expressway Consortium, as the winner. Meanwhile, well-known enterprises in the field of transportation construction, such as Cienco4, Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (Vinaconex – VCG), Deo Ca Construction Joint Stock Company, and Son Hai Group, were disqualified for failing to meet technical requirements.

According to Son Hai Group, the selection of the contractor as mentioned above indicates a “disregard for the provisions of the law on bidding,” potentially resulting in a state budget loss of over VND 113 billion. Furthermore, the disqualification has caused economic damage and severely affected the reputation and image of the company.