At the regular press conference of the second quarter on the afternoon of July 2, a representative of the Bidding Management Department (Ministry of Finance) said that yesterday (July 1), the Government Office sent a document to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction and Dong Nai province requesting a review and re-examination of information related to the construction package of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway, the section passing through Binh Phuoc province (now part of Dong Nai province). After receiving this document, the Bidding Management Department will review the contents and report back.
Speaking more about this issue, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi informed: " After receiving the document, the Ministry of Finance would like to accept all the instructions of the Government related to this bid package. The Ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Construction as well as Dong Nai province to review and clarify the issues in the instructions and report back as soon as possible ."
Previously, on July 1, the Government Office issued a document conveying the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha to the Minister of Finance, the Ministry of Construction and the Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee regarding the inspection of the contractor selection process for the construction package of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister's assessment, the Ministry of Finance did not meet the requirements regarding the deadline and content of the inspection report on the contractor selection process.
The document stated that the Ministry of Finance reported nearly 10 days later than the deadline, and the report's content did not properly reflect the role and function of the state management agency on bidding.
The inspection process did not fully comply with the provisions of Circular 23/2024/TT-BKHĐT dated December 31, 2024. The Ministry of Finance did not specifically analyze the inspection results, lacking conclusions and recommendations for the inspected unit and competent authorities.
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In particular, although the Deputy Prime Minister requested clarification of the capacity and experience of the Expert Group, the Ministry only stopped at checking the bidding certificate, leaving the Project Management Board to be responsible for assessing the capacity of its members.
"The content of the report and recommendations has not yet properly reflected the responsibilities and functions of the state management agency on bidding... The Deputy Prime Minister assigned to conduct an inspection of the capacity and experience of the Expert Team, but the Ministry of Finance reported that it only inspected the Bidding Certificate and assigned the Project Management Board to be responsible for ensuring the capacity and experience of the members of the Expert Team... which is not fulfilling its responsibilities," the document stated.
The Government Office stated that the Ministry of Finance's focus on the "non-compliance" content of the Expert Group was not enough, and did not conduct a comprehensive inspection as directed.
Clarifying key content
The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Finance to urgently complete the report and clarify the following contents:
Evaluate the completeness and compliance of the bidding documents (E-HSMT), especially the requirements on BIM, symbols, codes, labels, origin of materials and equipment. Consider whether the equipment capacity criteria are consistent between the capacity and technical sections, if not, will it distort the contractor selection results?
Evaluate the E-HSDT appraisal process of contractors: Is it accurate, objective, transparent, and consistent? Does the failure of the Expert Team to clarify the E-HSDT according to Article 28 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP ensure the accuracy of the results? Comprehensively evaluate the capacity, experience, and number of members of the Expert Team, not only based on certificates, but also considering actual capacity.
Evaluate the entire contractor selection process: Has the approval of the results ensured legality, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency? Does the selected contractor really meet the requirements regarding capacity, experience, progress, and quality?
The Ministry of Finance must make a clear recommendation: Maintain the results or request the Investor, Inviting Party, Expert Group to review, complete, or apply other handling measures.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province (now Dong Nai) to complete the report and send it to the Prime Minister before July 5, 2025.
The People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province needs to direct the Investor, the Project Management Board and the Expert Team to fully coordinate with the Working Group of the Ministry of Finance, ensure the provision of complete records and documents and promptly resolve the contractor's recommendations in accordance with legal regulations.
Previously, on May 26, Son Hai Group sent a document to the Binh Phuoc Provincial Investment and Construction Project Management Board, Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee and related units, protesting the results of the selection of contractors for the construction package of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh expressway, section through Binh Phuoc.
Son Hai Group proposed that despite being the unit with the lowest bid price, it failed the bid. Meanwhile, the unit with the highest bid price won the bid.
Claiming that "the investor showed signs of violating the law in bidding" leading to a huge risk of loss and waste of more than 113 billion VND of state money, Son Hai Group spoke out against the investor's bidding decision.
In response to Son Hai Group, Mr. Dinh Tien Hai - Director of Binh Phuoc Province Construction Investment Project Management Board affirmed that the bidding process was carried out transparently and publicly online.
On June 4, the Ministry of Finance sent a delegation to Binh Phuoc for a direct inspection. The inspection delegation worked with the Management Board and related units on a number of issues such as: Bidding documents, results of bid evaluation, handling and resolving complaints during bidding, capacity and experience of the Expert Team, etc.
On June 25, the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province reported the results of the inspection. The report stated that the bidding process was carried out in accordance with legal regulations.
The 70km Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway project passes through 3 provinces: Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc. The project has a total investment of 25,000 billion VND, is a key traffic project, of special importance to the socio-economic development of the Southeast region.
Of which, the section through Binh Phuoc province has a total length of about 6.6km, a design speed of 100km/h, and a scale of 4 lanes.
The starting point borders Binh Duong province and the ending point is Chon Thanh town (Binh Phuoc), the total cost is 1,474 billion VND, of which the central budget is expected to be 1,000 billion VND, the rest is the local budget.
Project implementation period is from 2024 to 2026. In 2024, investment preparation, preparation and approval of investment policy report, preparation and approval of feasibility study report, organization of contractor selection, construction commencement; in 2025 - 2026, construction will continue and strive to complete the project and put it into use by the end of 2026.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/bi-chinh-phu-phe-binh-bo-tai-chinh-noi-se-som-ra-soat-lai-vu-son-hai-truot-thau-ar952249.html
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