Keeping costs down is justified by the need to maintain transaction costs at an acceptable level to avoid bidders applying costs loaders that affect the financial of the project. The objective of Bid Securities is to avoid frivolous bids where many bidders exist as this would create undue work and might bias competition. Fixed imposed percentage is not acceptable as it permits inferring the bid price and this can bias the technical evaluation and thus create undue influences
Clarifications and information to bidders
The Procuring Entity may organise:
- A pre-bid conference in order to brief potential bidders or to offer the opportunity for them to seek clarifications; and/or
- A site visit, to enable bidders to gain access to the site for delivery of any proposed works, goods or services.
Details of pre-bid conferences and site visits, including the date, time and location, must be included in the bidding document and, where possible, in the invitation to tender. The date of any pre-bid conference or site visit should be sufficiently early in the bidding period, to enable bidders to take the information into account in preparing their bids.
The Procuring Entity has to prepare minutes of any pre-bid conference and promptly send them to all bidders to whom the bidding documents have been issued. The minute must include:
- All information provided as part of any briefing;
- Details of any clarifications requested, but without identifying the source of the inquiry; and
- The details of responses provided as clarifications.
Following any pre-bid conference or site visit, the Procuring Entity has to ensure that clarifications or amendments to the bidding documents are issued to all candidates within a reasonable time. In addition to the pre-bid conference, the bidding documents must state that a Bidder may seek clarification of the bidding document and the final date after which such clarification may not be
sought. Such date has to allow adequate time for potential bidders, including foreign bidders, to receive and apply the clarifications.
Where a request for clarification is received, the Procuring Entity must promptly provide a clarification in writing, copied to all bidders and including a description of the inquiry, but without identifying the source. At any time prior to the deadline for submission of bids, the Procuring Entity may, either at its own initiative or in response to a request for clarification from a Bidder, amend the bidding document by issuing an addendum.
As for clarifications, any addendum shall be issued in writing and the same information shall be provided to all bidders at the same time. All addenda must be numbered sequentially and bearthe procurement requirement unique sequential number. All clarifications and addenda to the bidding documents are binding to bidders and to the Procuring Entity.
