UP revises tender terms, aims to draw maximum companies
Manufacturers of vaccines requiring storage or transportation at very low temperatures will be able to participate now
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has revised the supply conditions, bid security and eligibility terms for bidders to pave the way for the participation of maximum companies in the state government’s global tender for Covid vaccines.
In the global e-tender floated on May 5, the state government specified that the temperature for the storage of the vaccines should be 2-8 degrees Celsius.
In the revised tender, the state government has stated that the manufacturers of vaccines requiring storage or transportation at temperatures like -20 degrees Celsius, -70 degrees Celsius or -80 degrees Celsius can participate in the tender.
The fresh condition states that the seller has to advise and facilitate the transportation up to the consignee place and ensure safe storage at the consignee store till the time the vaccine is dispatched from the store to the vaccine administration centres across the state.
At present, the cold chains of the state government have storage temperature in the range of 2-8 degree Celsius. At some places, there is a limited capacity for storage at -20 degrees Celsius.
The green signal to the companies that store vaccines at low temperatures will pave the way for the entry of foreign vaccine manufacturers like Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson in the global tender, said additional chief secretary (information and micro, small and medium enterprises) Navneet Sehgal.
To ramp up vaccine stocks, the Uttar Pradesh government is looking for the participation of the maximum number of manufacturers. “The more vaccines we get, the maximum number of people will be vaccinated quickly,” he said. The fresh tender terms state that any bidder from a country that shares a
border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement of goods or services, including consultancy services and non-consultancy services as well as works that include turnkey projects, only if the bidder is registered with the competent authority in India.
The invitation for e-bids has been revised from Rs 160 million to Rs 80 million.
Earlier, the bid security was valid for 28 days beyond the original validity period of the bid or beyond any period of extension, if requested. Under the revised order, the bid security will be valid for 45 days beyond the original validity period or beyond any period of extension, if required.
“The state government is hopeful that several companies will submit bids for the supply of 40 million (four crore) Covid vaccine doses on May 21,” Sehgal said.
In the pre-bid qualification meeting held on May 13, top vaccine manufacturing companies had raised the issues of storage and transportation of the vaccines and bid security.
A committee headed by finance and medical education minister Suresh Khanna had directed the state government officials to clarify the issues raised by the companies at the meeting. The meeting was attended by Dr Reddy’s Laboraland
tories, Zydus Cadila, Pfizer, Serum Institute of India (SII), Bharat Biotech, and a Korean company.
According to the bid order, the bidders have been told that the state government requires six million to eight million doses of vaccines to be supplied every month. The supply has to be initiated within seven days of the release of the purchase order and completed within 30 days.
The contract will be awarded to the qualified bidder whose bid has been determined to be substantially responsive and has been determined to be the lowest evaluated bid. The state government had the right to empanel a number of bidders for the supply of the vaccines, he said.