Vietnamese bidders will face many challenges when approaching the government procurement market due to limited capacity and experience. — Photo baodauthau.vn

HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese bidders will face many challenges when approaching the government procurement market due to limited capacity and experience, experts said in a conference on government procurement commitments in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement held last week.

Speaking at the event held by the Public Procurement Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn from the agency introduced the government procurement adjustments in the TPP, goods and services that need to be procured and the prices of bidding packages. He also analysed differences in selecting bidders before and after the deal takes effect. 
Michael Trueblood, director of USAID’s Economic Growth and Governance Office, said USAID was assisting Việt Nam in reforming its policies on government procurement. 
USAID expert Mai Lâm said the TPP was the first free trade agreement where Việt Nam had made commitments on government procurement, noting the government procurement agency would face difficulty in selecting bidders for bidding packages that properly observe the TPP requirements.
To improve effectiveness in government procurement, Lâm said Việt Nam would need to study and then provide its bidders with information on the government procurement market of other TPP countries. 
It is necessary to conduct a survey on the capability of Vietnamese bidders and to build trade promotion programmes to boost Việt Nam’s exports via the government procurement channels, according to Lâm. 
Jean Heilman Grier, an international consultant, said when joining the TPP, Việt Nam would need to recommend common requirements and principles as well as specific regulations and guidelines to be included in sub-law documents. 
The country should also detail bidding requirements, including international commitments on bidding, he added.

Grier also recommended Việt Nam revise Decree 63/2015/NĐ-CP on selecting bidders and focus on preferential programmes for small- and medium-enterprises, form independent arbitration agencies, disseminate the TPP government procurement commitments and issue tight regulations to avoid conflicts of interest and to prevent corruption. -- VNS