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The Son La Hydropower Plant is being built with public investment. The newly introduced online bidding process is expected to help the Goverment save money and increase the efficiency of public investment projects. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung |
Deputy Minister Dang Huy Dong said that the trial programme proves the Government's determination to boost transparency and fight corruption during the bidding process, and increase the efficiency of public investment projects.
Le Van Tang, director of the Bidding Management Department, said that every year, the Government had to spend a lot of money, effort and time to buy goods and services for public interests.
Applying e-bidding would help save costs and time for the Government and furthermore, promote healthy competition among enterprises, Tang said.
Online bidding would facilitate enterprises' ability to access information and minimise the provision of wrong information because both buyers and sellers will have to comply with a procedure automatically part of the e-bidding system.
Tang emphasised that "the direct contact between project owners and bidders is unnecessary and it also means that there is no opportunity for corruption."
| Online bidding moves to trial stage Online bidding will be implemented on a trial basis starting on September 15 at three State organisations, namely the Ha Noi People's Committee, the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Group, and the Electricity of Viet Nam Group. Under Circular 17/2010/TT-BKH, issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, that has been in effect since last Wednesday, the trial online bidding will be applied to consulting services, goods procurement, and construction packages. Each of the three organizations will put forth at least five goods procurements, three consulting services, three construction packages for competitive bidding. Both the bidder and the bid organiser will have to register on the website http://muasamcong.mpi.gov.vn in order to participate and receive a digital identity code. All electronic documents with the digital signatures of the representatives made via the online system will have the same legal value as the paper-based documents. — VNS |
Deputy General Director of the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Group To Manh Cuong said that VNPT was planning to invite bids for 12 projects for consulting services, goods procurement and construction and will ask its subsidiaries to do the same. Cuong believed that with the group's IT network and the abilities of its staff, the online bidding process would be carried out smoothly.
Le Thiet Hung, deputy director of the Project Management Board under Ha Noi's People's Committee, said that the policy was very necessary as it would save time and cut down paper usage.
He said that the project should have been implemented earlier, but it was not too late to start now. Tang also worried that the current nationwide information technology infrastructure had not been well developed and that many problems relating to security and tranmission lines could arise.
However, Tang said the IT system was not the biggest problem, but that the greatest obstacle lay in the determination of investors because bidding over the Internet could harm the "benefits" to some people. Officials at all levels had to change their way of thinking and working so that the modern bidding method could comfortably replace the traditional one, Tang added.
According to Tang, the Ministry will collaborate with related authorities in the near future to provide training courses, increase staff abilities, complete legal frameworks and intensify the examination and supervision of bidding activities.
The Government targeted to open the bid for 15-20 per cent of total projects using State capital. — VNS
