The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways issued a statement on Wednesday that even single bids are to be considered in open tenders, if reasonably priced compared to current market values.
"It has become a practice among some procuring entities to routinely assume that open tenders which result in single bids are not acceptable and to go for re-tender as a 'safe' course of action," the statement said.
The Ministry said that this practice is incorrect and leads to additional costs of re-tendering, delays in project execution, and the risk of higher bids in subsequent tenders.
It added that a lack of competition should not be judged solely by the number of bids submitted. Even when only one bid is received, the process can still be considered valid if certain conditions are met. These include ensuring that the tender was adequately advertised, sufficient time was given for the submission of bids and the qualification criteria were not excessively restrictive.
The Ministry further stated that single bids in open bidding processes will not be rejected, provided these conditions are met. The Evaluation Committee responsible for reviewing tenders must ensure that these criteria are fulfilled before recommending the acceptance of a single bid.
In cases where there is only one bid, the committee must also assess the reasonableness of the prices by comparing them with similar contracts awarded in other projects. Adjustments may be made to account for inflation, geographical conditions, and other factors that could impact the overall cost.
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