Bidding for Navy attack craft fails

The bidding for the supply of three multi-purpose attack craft for the Navy failed as bidders did not meet the documentary requirements set by the government.

Five parties expressed interest on the P270-million project, which seeks to boost the Navy’s operational readiness in maritime security, domain awareness and mobility for territorial defense operations.

These are the joint venture of Propmech Corp. and Taiwan’s Lung Teh Shipbuilding; the joint venture of Stoneworks Specialist International Corp. and Indonesia’s Multi Prima; Rovia Road Yacht Boat Builder, Colorado Shipyard Corp. and Hong Kong’s Armacraft Co. Ltd.; and Santiago Shipyard and Shipbuilding Corp.

Only four of the five companies that bought the bid documents submitted offers. Local firm Santiago Shipyard and Shipbuilding Corp. did not join the bidding because it lacked time to comply with documentary requirements.

None of the bidders, however, was able to fully satisfy the requirements under the procurement law.

Most of the bidders failed to submit a detailed bill of quantities, a document that specifies all the items and services they plan to provide.

The submission of the detailed document is required under the law to discourage lump sums, which have been perceived as a possible source of corruption.

One of the bidders, the joint venture of Stoneworks and Multi Prima, failed to present a certification from the Indonesian embassy that the English translation of its documents was accurate.

Because of the unsuccessful bidding, the documents of the project will be returned to the Navy for mandatory review. Security sources told The STAR that the Bids and Awards Committee is likely to hold another public bidding for the project.

The project involves the purchase of the three vessels and initial integrated logistics support, including crew training. A separate project or lot will involve the acquisition of advanced weapons system, including missile launch systems.