Revealing the reason why Son Hai contractor was hit by a landslide in the expressway construction package through Binh Phuoc

Reasons for being hit

Son Hai Group Company Limited has just sent a document to the Binh Phuoc Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board regarding the objection to the results of the selection of contractors for the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway Construction Package, the section passing through Binh Phuoc Province.

According to documents obtained by Lao Dong Newspaper, the investor had previously announced the reason for this contractor's failure.

On May 22, 2025, Mr. Dinh Tien Hai, Director of the Binh Phuoc Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board, signed a Decision approving the results of the online contractor selection of the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway construction package through Binh Phuoc province.

According to the above Decision, information about the winning or losing bidder is as follows:

One of the bases for the investor to give this result is the consideration of the proposal of Van Phu Design Consulting Joint Stock Company in Submission No. 73/TTr-VP dated May 21, 2025.

The above submission clearly stated: Son Hai Group Company Limited did not meet technical requirements.

In which, Son Hai did not meet the requirements for materials and equipment supplied to the package.

In the list of materials, materials, and main equipment of the medium-voltage line and transformer station category according to E-HSMT: the contractor does not assign a specific symbol or code for goods to bid for the type of fishing material and does not have a quality standard dossier for the specific type of material, so there is not enough basis to assess the E-HSMT compliance. Typical examples include:

Transformer (MBA 1 phase I5kVA - 12.7/2x0.23kV); I4m control pole (1100kpgf, Fph = 2Fdt), 14m control pole assembly... No list, label, code, origin, or source, no quality standard documents for the type of materials to be contracted, so there is no basis to prove that it meets the requirements of E-HSMT.

For the type of electric cable material: the contractor did not designate a specific symbol or product code in the catalogue to bid for the type of material required and did not have a quality standard dossier for the specific type of material, so there was not enough basis to assess the quality of the material.

According to the bidding unit, Son Hai did not meet the requirements for organizing BIM implementation in the bidding package. According to Decision No. 258/QD-TTg dated March 17, 2023 of the Prime Minister approving the roadmap for applying the construction information model (BIM) in construction activities.

In the bid technique proposal, in the schedule of human resource mobilization, the contractor presented the progress of the personnel mobilization to implement BIM, but the contractor did not present the organization of implementation and deployment of BIM.

Another reason why Son Hai failed the bid was because it did not meet the requirements for machinery and construction equipment for the construction of the bidding package.

Son Hai opposes

Previously, as Lao Dong reported, on May 26, information was circulated on the internet that Son Hai Group Company Limited sent a document to the Binh Phuoc Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board to express its disagreement with the results of the selection of the contractor for the Ho Chi Minh City - Thu Dau Mot - Chon Thanh Expressway Construction Package, the section passing through Binh Phuoc province.

According to Son Hai, the expressway construction package announced to be opened for bidding is more than 880 billion VND. Among the participating contractors, Son Hai Group is the unit that offered the lowest price - more than 732 billion VND, saving the State budget more than 148 billion VND (equivalent to a discount rate of nearly 17%). However, this group did not win the bid because it did not meet the technical requirements of this package.

Meanwhile, the results announced show that the winning bidder is the contractor with the highest bid price - more than 866 billion VND, saving the state only about 14 billion VND.

This enterprise believes that it has completed many key projects and works with high quality. Giving such reasons affects the reputation of the business. At the same time, it does not save much cost for the State.

Talking to the reporter, the Chief of the Office of Binh Phuoc People's Committee said that it had been informed about the incident. Currently, the unit is advising to lead the Provincial People's Committee to direct the Management Board of Binh Phuoc Construction Investment Project to clearly report this case to the provincial People's Committee and Binh Phuoc Provincial Party Committee. Secondly, it is suggested that the Management Board of Construction Investment Projects of Binh Phuoc Province invites the contractor, Son Hai Group to work.

The Chief of the Office of Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee added that, through preliminary grasp, the bidding was widely implemented. The information of dots or failure is public on the national bidding network. The bidding process also complies with the provisions of law. However, when the contractor wondered, the province was responsible for explaining the contractor.