Latest guidance on ensuring competitiveness in the contractor selection in bidding in Vietnam

Latest guidance on ensuring competitiveness in the contractor selection in bidding in Vietnam (Internet image)

Latest guidance on ensuring competitiveness in the contractor selection in bidding in Vietnam

According to the provisions of Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP on ensuring competitiveness in the contractor selection in bidding in Vietnam:

- Contractors participating in bidding for construction, procurement of goods, non-consulting services, and PC packages must be legally and financially independent from the following parties:

+ Providers of consulting services for that package, including: preparation, appraisal of technical design, construction drawing design, estimates, overall technical design (Front-End Engineering Design - FEED design); valuation; contract implementation supervision, inspection; preparation and appraisal of pre-qualification documents, bidding documents; evaluation of pre-qualification documents and bidding documents; appraisal of pre-qualification results, contractor selection results; project management consulting, contract management consulting, and other consultancy services directly related to the package;

+ The investor and the bidding party, except for cases stipulated in Clauses 8 and 9, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP.

- Contractors participating in bidding for consulting service packages must be legally and financially independent from the following parties:

+ Providers of consulting services for that package, including: preparation, appraisal of interest invitation documents, bidding documents; evaluation of interest documents and bidding documents; appraisal of interest invitation results, and contractor selection results; project management consulting, contract management consulting, and other consultancy directly related to the package;

+ The investor and the bidding party, except for cases stipulated in Clauses 8 and 9, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP;

+ In addition to the provisions at points a and b, Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, contractors participating in consulting service packages related to goods supply packages, construction, non-consulting services, including: preparation, appraisal of technical design, construction drawing design, estimates; preparation, appraisal of FEED design; valuation appraisal; preparation and appraisal of pre-qualification documents, bidding documents; evaluation of pre-qualification documents and bidding documents; appraisal of pre-qualification results, contractor selection results; inspection, contract implementation supervision must be legally and financially independent from the contractor supplying goods, construction, non-consulting services.

- Contractors participating in EPC, EP, EC packages must be legally and financially independent from the following parties:

+ Contractors preparing and appraising FEED design;

+ Contractors preparing and appraising feasibility study reports when not preparing FEED design;

+ Contractors preparing and appraising technical economic reports when not preparing feasibility study report, not preparing FEED design according to the construction law;

+ Project management consulting, supervision consulting, inspection consulting, contract management consulting of the investor, bidding party, or contracted by the investor or bidding party;

+ Valuation appraisal consulting contractors; contractors preparing and appraising pre-qualification documents, bidding documents; consulting contractors evaluating pre-qualification documents and bidding documents; consulting contractors appraising evaluation results of pre-qualification documents, contractor selection results; other consulting contractors directly participating in the process of organizing contractor selection;

+ The investor and the bidding party, except for cases stipulated in Clauses 8 and 9, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP;

The scope of design work in the EPC, EP, EC package for construction investment projects stipulated in Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP may be FEED design or basic design; EPC, EP, EC packages should not be formed when there is a technical design or two-step designed construction according to the construction law.

- Contractors participating in turnkey packages must be legally and financially independent from the following parties:

+ Contractors preparing and appraising pre-feasibility study reports;

+ Project management consulting, supervision consulting, inspection consulting, contract management consulting of the investor, bidding party, or contracted by the investor or bidding party;

+ Consulting contractors preparing and appraising pre-qualification documents, bidding documents; consulting contractors evaluating pre-qualification documents and bidding documents; consulting contractors appraising contractor selection results; other consulting contractors directly participating in the process of organizing contractor selection;

+ The investor and the bidding party, except for cases stipulated in Clauses 8 and 9, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP.

- Except when a contractor executing the design work of the EPC, EP, EC, turnkey package must be legally and financially independent from consulting contractors stipulated at points a, b, c, d and dd Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, and points a, b, c, Clause 4, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, the consulting contractor can provide one or more consulting services for the same project, package including:

+ Preparation and appraisal of investment policy proposal reports;

+ Preparation and appraisal of pre-feasibility study reports;

+ Preparation and appraisal of feasibility study reports;

+ Preparation and appraisal of technical economic reports;

+ Construction surveys;

+ Preparation and appraisal of design files and estimates;

+ Preparation and appraisal of comprehensive contractor selection plans, contractor selection plans, pre-qualification documents, interest invitation documents, bidding documents, requirement documents; evaluation of pre-qualification documents, interest documents, bidding documents, proposal documents; appraisal of evaluation results of pre-qualification documents, interest document results, contractor selection results;

+ Supervision consultancy.

For each content stipulated at points a, b, c, d, e, and g, Clause 5, Article 3 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, contractors may only prepare, appraise, or evaluate.

- The shareholding or capital contribution rate among parties is determined at the bidding closing time and according to the rate recorded in the enterprise registration certificate, the establishment decision, and other equivalent valid documents.

- In the case of a joint venture contractor or a consulting contractor selected as a joint venture, the ownership rate of other organizations or individuals in the joint venture is determined by the following formula:

Where:

X_i: Is the ownership rate of other organizations or individuals in the i-th member of the joint venture;

Y_i: Is the percentage (%) of the workload of the i-th member in the joint venture agreement;

n: Is the number of members participating in the joint venture.

- Parent companies, subsidiaries, and member companies within an economic group, state-owned general corporation can participate in each other's packages if the products and services of those packages belong to the economic group's, state-owned corporation's main production and business sectors. However, contractors must still be legally and financially independent from the contractors stipulated at points a, b, c, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 6 of Law on Bidding 2023.

- Public service units and enterprises under the same direct managing authority or with capital contributions participating in each other's bidding packages in Vietnam are not required to meet the legal and financial independence requirements between contractors and the owner or bidding party.

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