Second Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Corridor 2 Road Investment Program

ADB should help the executing agency strengthen its capacity in procurement planning, bid evaluation, and contract award in accordance with ADB’s procurement guideline. Because of the disagreement between the executing agency and ADB regarding bid evaluation results, the procurement of civil works for Project 2 was significantly delayed. The divergent views centered on particular restriction provisions, including abnormally low bids, collusions, and conflicts of interest. At the bid evaluation stage for the procurement of civil works for tranche 3 and at the PCR mission for tranche 3 and the program fielded in April 2022, concerns were raised about abnormally low bids, which, in the opinion of the executing agency, could affect bid evaluation results and the performance of the winning contractor, whose motivation and commitment to the contract may be compromised by the possibility of decreased profitability if the bid was abnormally low. The difference between local procurement standards and ADB’s procurement guidelines has also been mentioned as contributing to the disagreement. The procurement delays in Project 3 indicate that ADB should support the executing agency in enhancing its ability and competence in procurement planning, bid evaluation, and contract award in accordance with ADB’s procurement policy and regulations.