A representative from the Indian contractor who joined in the bidding for the Song Da Water Project, which was won by a Chinese company has claimed they believe the tendering process lacked transparency.

Viwasupco’s survey team expressed high regards for
Jindal Saw's production facilities

A representative of the Jindal Saw Company, who wished to remain anonymous, part of a joint venture with Vietnamese Newtatco Company that submitted a failed bid, said: "We are third in the world in term of providing ductile iron pipes so we considered the French contractor our biggest competitor because of their experience. We didn't think much of the Chinese contractor, the Xingxing Company. So we were surprised."

According to the representative, there were initially two Chinese contractors, one French contractor and an India-Vietnam joint venture. Reports from the Bidding Assistance Centre, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, showed that one of Chinese contractors, Hydrochina Corporation, and French contractor Saint-Gobain PAM had not decided to lodge a bond so withdrew from the bid.

"I was surprised because a USD1m bid bond isn’t too much for a big company. I don't know why they pull out," said the representative.

Then the joint venture of Jindal Saw-Newtatco was disqualified because they do not have "similar contracts as required in the bidding documents."

Viwasupco, the water utility subsidiary of construction firm Vinaconex, claimed that even though the Indian contractor had experience for producing ductile iron pipe with diameter of 1,300mm, they had only produced 300m of 1,800mm ductile iron pipe. Meanwhile, the Jindal Saw said they were only asked to prove that they have ability to produce 1,600mm ductile iron pipe, not the 1,800mm pipes.

Viwasupco’s survey team came to Jindal Saw's factory and apparently expressed high regards for their production facilities but they were disqualified a few days later.

"We are very disappointed with the way contractors were disqualified. There was a complete lack of transparency during the bidding process. I feel like contractors are disqualified or forced to quit so that there's one clear designated winner," he said.

On March 22, Viwasupco announced that it had given the ductile iron pipe supply contract for the Song Da Water Pipeline Project - Phase II to the Chinese-owned Xinxing Co. Ltd., with a bid price 11.8 percent lower than their tender. The announcement was quickly met with public scepticism and worries over the pipeline quality as there have been rumours about the poor quality of the products provided by Xinxing Company in other projects.