Tender awarding in limbo

A Tk 1,059.1 crore project to develop Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited’s (BTCL) optical fibre network for expanding the 5G network across the country is facing challenges as its first tendering is stuck in bureaucratic tangles.

Sources said the international tender for the supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of ASON-based DWDM transmission system under a turnkey contract worth around Tk 460 crore was floated in September last year. The tender is a major component of the project.

According to the documents, three companies participated in the tender – Nokia Solutions and Network, ZTE Corporation, and Huawei International Pte Ltd. The technical evaluation committee evaluated the companies’ technical offers and okayed all of those.

The committee submitted the report to the BTCL managing director, also the head of the procuring entity (HOPE), on April 6 this year.

The tendering authorities were supposed to complete tender evaluation within 120 days but are yet to do that, delaying the awarding of the tender as the HOPE did not approve the technical committee report, alleged one of the tender participants.

Director of the Development of Optical Fibre Transmission Network of BTCL for 5G Readiness project Md Monjir Ahmed said he had received the technical evaluation report on April 6 and forwarded it to BTCL Managing Director (Additional Charge) Asaduzzaman Chowdhury for his approval.

“The BTCL managing director sent it back to me this week with some queries, saying the report is not satisfactory. Now we will examine it for further processing,” he said.

Asaduzzaman told The Business Post he found inconsistencies in some mandatory documents after receiving the evaluation report. He asked for clarifications from the technical committee, but the answers were not satisfactory to him.

“The technical committee thought all is fine, but I felt some documents were not okay. So I sent it back to the project director, saying the tender requirements have not been fulfilled,” he said.

Asked what would happen next, he said, “I do not know. We have to wait to reach a conclusion.”

A source who closely monitored the matter said the HOPE in his note asked the project director to take necessary steps about the tender but did not explain further. The project director does not have the authority to scrap the tender or seek a fresh evaluation report or call a new tender.

The HOPE has the authority to approve or disapprove the technical report. But if he rejects the recommendations and requests re-evaluation, he will need to explain the reasons.

Asked what can be done now, Monjir said he will send it to the BTCL managing director again and seek specific directives for taking further steps. “To date, there is no positive development of the matter.”

A high official of BTCL said they were waiting for interventions from the BTCL board of directors or the posts, telecommunications and information technology ministry or the central procurement technical unit (CPTU) of the planning ministry.

“But we will not approach the higher authorities ourselves. If the higher authorities say all is okay, then it is fine. Otherwise, re-tendering can be initiated,” he said.

Allegations, counter-allegations

Two of the three multinational companies taking part in tendering pointed the finger at each other over the bidding.

Huawei International sent separate letters to the CPTU, the Posts and Telecommunications Division secretary, and the BTCL managing director, requesting quick completion of tender evaluation.

An official of the company told The Business Post though they fulfilled all the criteria, they fear the authorities are trying to scrap the tender and issue a fresh one.

“We believe that is why BTCL is delaying the process. We do not know who will get the work as the lowest bidder. The authorities should continue the process and act according to the rules.”

On the other hand, ZTE Corporation complained about the technical evaluation of the tender, requesting to review their opponent company’s proposal strictly. It also claimed that the opponent offered apparently low-capacity technology at lower prices.

The proposed equipment will not be able to meet the service requirements for a long time and will waste the government’s investment, it alleged in a letter sent to Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar.

The minister forwarded the letter to the HOPE on April 24, asking him to spend on technologies that will last till 2030 without any trouble.

However, months before that, a meeting was organised at the BTCL office in the presence of the board of directors, the managing director, project managers, and all the bidders. The meeting was held before the last day of the tender’s submission.

Everyone attending the meeting was requested to express their views or make complaints or give suggestions without any hesitations. They were also allowed to submit written complaints to BTCL before November 3 last year.

However, no objection was raised by any company in the meeting or later. They submitted their documents accepting everything, a source said.

Sources said the problem occurred as the tender documents did not mention the desired technology – CE/C++ or C+L band – to be accepted. It asked all the participants to explain what technology they are offering and whether they are capable of meeting the growing high-capacity traffic bandwidth for 5G services till 2030.