MUSCAT: Oman Tender Board Chairman Dr Rasheed bin Al Safi Al Huraibi said that making traditionalism coherent with the basic tender law rules, namely openness, equal opportunities and freedom of competition are among the privileges of the board.
He was giving an interview to Al Shabiba, the sister publication of Times of Oman. He said that the Tender Board reviews the terms of the tender document and announces the tender which meets the terms.
“Following submission of the tender bids by the tenderers, the Tender Board reviews the technical and financial analysis of the tender, following which the issue is referred to the tender board for taking a decision to award a tender,” he explained.
Al Huraibi added, “the government department awarding the project undertakes the process of planning, approval of designs and the budget document along with the correspondence with the successful tenderer, the contract signing and supervision about quality assurance.
Al Huraibi reaffirmed that proper planning and execution of the projects requires appointment of competent consultants by the body awarding the project. “The Tender Board has recently issued directives for appointing specialised project managers who are aware of the details of projects to supervise the consultant and execution of the projects in terms of cost and schedules and to support the clients in all phases of their projects,” he said.
He explained that the body awarding the project has to make available competent engineers and technicians to ensure effective supervision of the government projects and to ensure proper planning and execution.
Regarding the criteria for evaluation and announcement of a tender as a local or an international one, Al Huraibi said “the decision rests with the body awarding the project, the type of the project, its complexity and nature and the need for international expertise”. Referring to the significance of the Ministry for Public Works’ supervision when it comes to execution of all government projects, Dr Al Huraibi said the issue requires conducting detailed studies.
At present, the Tender Board and the concerned government departments have to be provided with the qualified cadre capable of handling the government projects in general and supervising the execution of projects, in particular. On the acceptance of the lowest tender bid which is not stipulated in the tender law, Al Huraibi said that the Tender Board first considers whether the companies meet the technical specifications required for the project.
In case the technical offer is acceptable to the tender board, the board considers the financial offer. “The Tender Board always seeks to award the projects to the companies submitting the best financial offers, provided that they meet the technical specifications,” he clarified.
In all cases, the Tender Board applies specific technical and financial criteria as set forth in the tender document to evaluate the tender bids. “We also keep under consideration the fact that the public money and the interest of the project must be safeguarded.”
On the costs of government projects, compared to the projects in the neighbouring countries, Dr. Al Huraibi said that it depends on the specifications set by the client. However, the board takes all measures to ensure competitive prices. “The Tender Board is currently working on a price indicator to be used as a guide for the tenders to be announced,” he said.
The execution of projects should be as per the contract, he said. Article (9) of the Tender Law tackles the breaches to contracts, submission of inaccurate data or information among other issues.
On the variation orders (VOs), Dr. Al Huraibi said that in 2012 and 2013, the VOs came down from 20 per cent in 2012 to 17 per cent in 2013. The year 2014 saw a reduction in VOs by five per cent in terms of number and by 34 per cent in terms of value.
