Court lifts injunction against BMTA’s NGV bus procurement

[webfact]

Court lifts injunction against BMTA’s NGV bus procurement

 

FILE photo

 

BANGKOK, 9 November 2018 (NNT) – The court injunction against the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority's (BMTA) procurement of 489 NGV buses has been revoked, enabling the agency to proceed with its procurement process. 

Mr Prayoon Choygeo, Acting Director of the BMTA, revealed that the Supreme Administrative Court has resolved to overturn the injunction issued earlier by the Central Administrative Court against the NGV bus procurement project of the BMTA. At the same time, the Court also dismissed the case submitted by Siam Standard Energy Company Limited, which alleged the BMTA’s procurement of the vehicles from the SCN-CHO group was illegal. 

Of the first lot of 489 NGV buses, 100 have already been delivered to the BMTA and put into service in March this year. With the injunction lifted, the BMTA will be able to carry on with its acquisition of the remaining 389 buses. 

So far, 200 of the incoming units have been assembled and are set to undergo quality inspections and registration with the Department of Land Transport prior to their delivery to the BMTA, tentatively in the middle of December. In the meantime, the manufacturer will speed up the assembly of the other 189 units, with the handover expected to take place within February of next year.

 

-- nnt 2018-11-09

[PatOngo]

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

with the handover expected to take place within February of next year.

How convenient, new pocket linings for the junta before the election! Hopefully it's their retirement fund!

[colinneil]

Somebody high up involved with this has just received a nice Big fat envelope, ok now you can proceed.

[Srikcir]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

the Court also dismissed the case submitted by Siam Standard Energy Company Limited, which alleged the BMTA’s procurement of the vehicles from the SCN-CHO group was illegal. 

SCN-CHO was the sole bidder for the Bt4.26 billion BMTA contract.  

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30341829

SCN-CHO, which is a joint venture between Scan Inter and Cho Thavee.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30343014

 

So what was the problem that got the procurement into court?

The BMTA had called for bids for supplying the 489 NGV buses for six times. 

• In the first bidding, no bidders were qualified.
• In the second bidding, Cho Thavee Plc won the bidding but the BMTA board cancelled the bidding result because some legal problems.
• Bestrin Group won the third bidding, but the BMTA cancelled the contract as the firm was too late to hand over the buses.
• The fourth bidding was called off because of a legal problem. 
• The fifth and sixth attracted no bidders.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/bmta-buy-ngv-buses-special-method/

Bestrin Group had won the bid and delivered the first group of 489 NGV buses in early 2017 (?). But in that bid process Bestrin had to bring a lawsuit against BMTA for alleged bid collusion with another competitor when Bestrin initially had its low bid nullified by BMTA.

In this second group of 489 NGV buses BMTA allegedly cancelled Bestrin's contract even though it had allegedly agreed to Bestrin's delivery schedule. It's likely that the "legal problem" in the fourth bidding would have given Bestrin again the bid award - reading in between the lines.

So it might simply be that Bestrin simply gave up trying to pursue the fifth and sixth bidding as the bid award was never going to happen for Bestrin.

[worgeordie]

Anyone know where the Bestrin Group buses are ,parked

up somewhere near the rotting Fire Engines ? 

regards Worgeordie

[Srikcir]

22 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Anyone know where the Bestrin Group buses are ,parked

up somewhere near the rotting Fire Engines ? 

regards Worgeordie

All buses paid for as per purchase agreement, tested on trial bus routes, licensed, on the road doing bus routes under BMTA ownership.

The issue BMTA had with the buses was an import tax issue.

But that didn't affect the award price and, thus, was not a cause for BMTA to challenge the sale.

With regard to any import taxes involved, the Thai importer paid Customs for some buses and has challenged on other buses, albeit all buses passed through ASEAN Malaysia for delivery to BMTA.