Hanoi (VNA) – The Government Inspectorate uncovered several serious violations regarding bidding regulations and consulting firms in the investment projects for constructing the second establishments of Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in the northern province of Ha Nam in 2014.
According to the recent inspection conclusion issued by the Government Inspectorate, the Minister of Health and the Management Board of Key Healthcare Projects seriously violated bidding regulations by deliberately selecting a foreign consulting unit that had been predetermined.
The Government Inspectorate stated that the Director of the Management Board of Key Healthcare Projects submitted a proposal for approving the hiring of foreign consultants to prepare the project. However, in Decision No. 996 dated March 21, 2014, the Minister of Health approved the hiring of foreign consultants for the design of the two projects without any prior proposal and at a time when the projects had not yet been approved.
Subsequently, in Notice No. 417 dated May 9, 2014, the Minister of Health directed that VK Group of Belgium be selected as the consulting unit for the project preparation without conducting a contractor selection process.
The Government Inspectorate concluded that the proposal and approval of the policy to hire foreign consultants, specifically the VK Group, without assessing the capabilities of domestic consultants and without organising a contractor selection process, was a subjective and deliberate action that seriously violated the regulations on bidding and the regulations on hiring foreign consultants in construction activities in Vietnam. The Minister of Health, the Director of the Management Board of Key Healthcare Project, the MoH’s Department of Medical Equipment and Health Works (DMEHW), and other relevant units and individuals must take responsibility for these wrongdoings.
The inspection agency also noted that the submission and approval of the plan to select architectural design options showed signs of dishonesty and lack of transparency. These seriously violated the regulations stipulated in Circular No. 23/2009 of the Ministry of Construction and the regulations on hiring foreign consultants in construction activities in Vietnam.
In addition, the Government Inspectorate also found violations in the implementation of four foreign consultancy packages (TV4/2014, TV5/2014, TVBM-04, and TVVD-04).
All the four bidding packages did not meet the conditions for designated bidding but were still implemented, violating prohibited acts in the bidding process.
With signs of violations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences in accordance with the provisions of the 2015 Criminal Code, the Government Inspectorate has handed over the files and documents of the four consultancy packages to the Ministry of Public Security for further investigation and settlement in accordance with the law./.
