RANGOON — While an evaluation committee has finished its selection process, it has yet to announce the successful tender to lead a traffic control project in Rangoon, said Thein Aung, director of engineering company VANGUARD, at a press conference on Tuesday.
The government put out a call for bidders to lead a traffic control project on July 24, 2015. Aimed at reducing traffic congestion in Rangoon, the project is slated to involve acquiring real-time traffic information, a red light violation detection mechanism, and the installation of CCTV cameras as well as a video analysis system at every traffic point.
The government estimates that the project will cost up to 20 billion kyats (over US$16 million).
On December 23, 2015, Rangoon Division Chief Minister Myint Swe announced the names of the four finalists to committee members. Yet two months later, Tuesday’s press conference offered no new insight into who has actually been selected for tender.
“If they make their decision based on the quality of the projects proposed, they should be transparent so that unsuccessful bidders can know their weak points and learn for next time. As of right now, we don’t know why we might have lost,” said Thein Aung of VANGUARD, one of the firms vying for the project.
A local newspaper reported on January 3 that China Railway Construction Company (CRCC) and Myanmar Shwe Yin Company had been selected as tender co-winners, citing Rangoon Division Forest and Energy Minister Kyaw Soe as a source.
But Aung Naing Oo, director of Kyaw Thein Khaing Company, which did not reach the final stage of the competition, took umbrage at the claim, saying that CRCC and Myanmar Shwe Yin were initially two separate companies that supposedly merged into one. This, he said, would disqualify them from participating in the competition, the rules for which stipulate that each entrant is allowed to apply for tender only as a single company.
“We want to know how they scored the bidders,” said Aung Naing Oo.
VANGUARD has said that it has penned several objection letters to Rangoon’s municipal engineering department, asking for a return of the tender security deposit—valued at 500 million kyats—but was told by the department that it does not know the selection results.
The Irrawaddy was unable to reach the two vice chairmen of the tender selection committee for comment at time of publication. Than Win, a visiting deputy professor at Rangoon Technology College as well as a member of the committee, confirmed that he was also unaware of the successful bidder.
VANGUARD estimated that a new traffic control building could solve between 30 and 40 percent of Rangoon’s traffic congestion. The chosen developer will have six months to complete the project, which is to be located in People’s Park in Dagon Township.
