This archive report was first published on 14 July 2020.
On April 14, 2020, Kemsa advertised for eligible bidders to float their bids for the lucrative deal, which had attracted 16 bidders. However, after mandatory evaluation requirements, six companies were dropped, leaving China Railway No10 Engineering Group as the successful bidder.
China Railway scored 83.80 per cent during technical evaluation and quoted its tender price as Sh959 million, including value-added tax (VAT). The company was awarded the tender after meeting the minimum score set by Kemsa.
Tunasco Insaat Anonim Sirketi, however, urged the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) to annul Kemsa's decision to award the Chinese firm the tender. The Turkish firm claimed that Kemsa had stated that financial proposals would be opened separately but proceeded to open the same alongside technical proposals out of mischief.
PPARB, chaired by Faith Waigwa, ruled in favour of Kemsa on July 9, 2020, stating that the Turkish firm had raised new issues which were not a part of the tendering process. The board noted that Sirketi ought to have raised its contention on clarity and funding before the tender submission deadline of May 12, 2020.
“Accordingly, the board finds that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the issues raised by the applicant challenging the contents of the tender document addressed to the board secretary. In the instance case, the applicant's allegations in the letter are time-barred,” the board ruled.
