Procurement through tenders

1. Tender Evaluation
PROCESS & CHALLENGES

2. Classification of Tenders
Tenders used by NTDC can be broadly categorized in the following ways:
 With respect to Scope of Work
 With Respect to Nature of Financing
 With Respect To Procedure

3. Tender Types w.r.t. Scope Of Work
 Loose Material Procurement
The scope of such tenders are limited to supply of goods, equipment
or material
 Works
The scope of tenders for works typically includes Civil Works,
Installation, Erection, Testing & Commissioning
 EPC (Turn Key)
These tenders cover compete scope of projects ranging from Design,
Supply, Civil Works, Installation, Erection toTesting & Commissioning

4. Tender Types w.r.t. Nature of Financing
 Financed under NTDC own resources
Tenders for projects financed under NTDC own resources are
independent of any external vetting/approval process. The bidding
document for NTDC own resources tenders has been standardized.
 Financed by Donor Agencies
Tendering process for projects funded by international financial
institutions including ADB, World Bank, KFW etc entail concurence and
approvals from donor agencies at several stages. Bidding document used
for each IFI is unique according to its guidelines.

5. Tender Types w.r.t. Procedure
 Single-Stage: One-Envelope Bidding Procedure
Bidders submit bids in one envelope containing both the price proposal
and the technical proposal. Both the proposals are simultaneously
evaluated.
 Single-Stage: Two-Envelope Bidding Procedure
Bidders submit two sealed envelopes simultaneously, one containing
the technical proposal and the other the price proposal, enclosed together
in an outer single envelope. Initially, only the technical proposals are opened
and evaluated. Subsequently, the price proposals of technically responsive
bidders are opened and evaluated.

6. Tendering Process: A brief overview
 Preparation of Tender Document
 Preparation of tender document
 Concurrence on tender document by donor agency
 Tender document floating
 Bidding period
 Evaluation of Bids
 Evaluation of technical bids
 Review of technical evaluation by GM(P&CM) and Approval by
Competent Authority
 Review of technical evaluation by Donor agency and issuance of NOL
 Evaluation of price bids
 Review of Evaluation by GM(P&CM)

7. Tendering Process: A brief overview
 Approval Process
 Evaluation reviewed by procurement Committee
 Approval by BOD NTDC or Competent Authority
 Price bid evaluation review by donor agency and issuance of
NOL
 Publication of bid evaluation results
 Grievances Redressal
 Issuance of NOA

8. Evaluation Process Timeline
Tender Evaluation Days Remarks
1 Evaluation of Technical Bids by Engineer 60 Rationale timelines needs to be defined depending upon the
type of procurement (Loose or Turnkey)
Actual time depends upon no. of bidders participated in the
given tender. Normally a single post bid clarification (for EPC
projects) pertaining to Qualification of bidder only comprises of
more than 20 pages.
Subject to reasonable No. of Post Bid Clarifications. If the
clarification response is delayed from bidder, the same will be
presented to BOD – accordingly
2 Technical Bid Evaluation Reviewed by GM
(P&CM) and approval by the Competent
authority
10
3 Technical Bid Evaluation Review and
issuance of NOL by the Donor Agency
30 For Projects funded by donor agencies

9. Evaluation Process Timeline
Tender Evaluation Days Remarks
4 Opening of Price Bid 5
5 Price Bid Evaluation by Engineer 15 Rationale timelines needs to be defined depending upon the
type of procurement (Loose or Turnkey)
Actual time depends upon no. of bidders participated in the
given tender. Normally a single post bid clarification (for EPC
projects) pertaining to Qualification of bidder only comprises of
more than 20 pages.
6 Evaluation Reviewed by GM (P&CM) 5
7 Price Bid Evaluation Review and issuance
of Final NOL by the Donor Agency
For Projects funded by donor agencies.
Sometimes because of failure of completion of Land Acquisition
process on time leads to delay in Final NOL from Donor Agency.
Land Acquisition is pre-requisite for issuance of Final NOL for
most of Donor Agency funded projects.

10. Challenges in Evaluation Process
The delays faced during evaluation process are attributable to the following factors:
 Frequency of post bid clarifications and delayed response by the bidder
 Many a time the proposals submitted by the bidders are incoherent, ambiguous or
of poor quality which necessitates seeking post bid clarifications. In case of atypical
projects or inexperienced bidders, the number can be comparably higher than
usual.
 Further, an overwhelming number of participating bidders are from China, most of
which do not have offices in Pakistan and are represented by semi literate and
untrained local agents. On instants the local agents miscommunicate with their
principals due to which post bid clarifications are not responded appropriately, and
subsequent clarifications are required.
 At times of year due to holidays and cultural festivities the bidders are not available
to respond in a timely manner which adds to delay in the evaluation process.

11. Challenges in Evaluation Process
 Type Testing Requirement
 Type test reports are lengthy documents which require time and resources
to be scrutinized thoroughly. Particularly, where new bidder/equipment is
involved, the activity can consume considerable time.
 Large No. of Bidders
 Sometimes for EPC projects, large number of bidders can lead to
inadvertent delay in Evaluation process due to increase in work-load.
 Interdepartmental dependence
 The evaluation process generally involves four departments i.e. SS Design,
Protection & Control, Telecom & Finance. The evaluation can be concluded
only after each department had concluded their component of work. This
dependence at times holds back pace of evaluation.

12. Challenges in Evaluation Process
 Human Resources
 With increasing workload, the sanctioned strength available for
evaluation of tender is overburdened which on occasions results in
slowing down the process.

13. Proposed Remedies
The following remedies may be considered to minimize delays in evaluation
process:
 Pre-Qualification
 It is proposed that a system for pre-qualification of
manufacturers/equipment may be enacted in order to make
evaluation process simple and time saving.
 Human Resources
 The process of tender preparation and evaluation should be entrusted
with tendering section of (P&CM). Alternatively, the sanctioned
strength of SS Design department may be enhanced so that
appropriate human resource could be allocated to evaluation of
tenders.

14. Proposed Remedies
 Interdepartmental dependence
 In order to avoid delays and expedite the process, it is proposed that
Telecom and Protection & Control departments carry out their
evaluations separately.
 Post Bid Clarification
 Though seeking post bid clarifications take up a lot of time during
evaluation process, abandoning it altogether might result in frequent
retendering. To limit delays, a set of guidelines defining modalities of
post bid clarifications may be devised.

15. THANK YOU