Bidding for NGV public bus contracts likely this August
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The Transport Ministry is expected to kick off the bidding for the NGV-driven public bus procurement project in August, after the formation of the bid panels in the next two weeks.
Three committees will be established to proceed with the bidding for the purchase of 3,183 NGV (natural gas for vehicles)-driven buses, permanent secretary Vichien Potphosri said following a meeting with the Bangkok Metropolitan Transport Authority (BMTA) yesterday.
The three committees, which must be established within two weeks, will comprise a bidding terms and conditions drafting committee, otherwise known as a terms of reference (TOR) panel; a bidding committee; and an inspection/acceptance of delivery committee.
Each will be headed by an BMTA representative and at least one distinguished individual approved by anti-corruption and social agency to ensure transparency, in accordance with the policy of Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan.
The TOR committee will be established first and will be chaired initially by Nares Boonpiam, the BMTA’s deputy director of Bus Operations, who will select independent – that is, without any vested interest – distinguished individuals to serve on the committee in accordance with the Cabinet’s resolution, Vichien said.
Drafting of the TOR is expected to take about one to two months, to be followed by posting of the TOR on the websites of the Transport Ministry and the General Accounting Office (GAO) so that all related parties can review and comment accordingly, with possible revision if necessary before bidding can take place, said BMTA director Opas Petchmunee.
Eight contracts
The bidding process will be split into eight contracts, comprising four each for the purchase of regular buses and air-conditioned buses.
The bidding for each contract will commence simultaneously. The winner of the bidding must deliver the first lot of 250 buses (125 each for regular and air-conditioned buses) within 18 months.
The NGV-driven bus procurement project will involve a budget of Bt13.16 billion, consisting 1,659 regular buses at Bt3.8 million each for a total of Bt6.3 billion, and 1,524 air-conditioned buses at Bt4.5 million each for a total of Bt6.86 billion, according to a source at the Transport Ministry.
Under the operational plan, the TOR draft must be posted on the ministry’s website, and the TOR themselves must be proposed for approval by the end of next month.
Thereafter, the TOR will serve as the bidding terms and conditions by early July, to be followed by bidding invitations and the sale of bid documents in July and August.
The bid-winners will be announced in late October.
