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Corporation cancels the bidding process
A recent rebar purchase offer, issued by the Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation (ECWC), infuriated industry players as the state corporation imports thousands of tons of metal products, while only intending to buy a few. few kilograms of rebar, locally.
The “Standard bidding document for the acquisition of goods and related services for national public tenders”, which the corporation issued a few weeks ago, indicated that the corporation is willing to buy rebar that can be used for the construction of administration offices. public service. located in the sub-cities of Yeka, Gullele, Jemo and Akaki.
In July 2020, the corporation invited local manufacturers to supply rebar with diameters ranging from eight mm (millimeter) to 20 mm. However, problems began to arise once he realized that the intended purchase was not in bulk but in kilograms.
A total of 1,118.3 kilograms of reinforcement was to be purchased from local suppliers, while the corporation launched an international offer to buy more than 15 million tons.
Furious at the disparities between local and international supply, a group of metal manufacturers has filed complaints against the corporation.
Solomon Mulugeta, general manager of the Ethiopian Association of Engineering Industries and Basic Metals recently said The reporter about the incident and said: “It is simply a humiliation for the local industries.”
Currently, local industries have achieved an annual capacity to produce around five million metric tons of rebar. However, demand is limited to around 3.5 million metric tons, suggesting a surplus production of 1.5 million metric tons. That, however, did not satisfy the corporation that has currently acquired projects worth 20.7 billion birr.
The rebar bulk shipment, according to Tinfu Muche, ECWC’s director of public relations, will cover construction needs for two years. He said there is nothing wrong with buying large quantities from outside suppliers, as buying from local manufacturers has contributed to delays in delivering projects on time due to shortages of foreign exchange and raw materials.
Tinfu said there are 15 projects that have been behind schedule for almost six years. Avoiding such practices has now become an urgent matter for the administration, and imports of bulky shipments were authorized when some seven local manufacturers failed to win a tender in the process.
However, one thing has been biased for Solomon and the association members, in favor of the importers. They have access to forex to buy finished products, while local industries wait months to access forex to import raw materials.
It should be remembered that the corporation has spent about 500 million birr to buy 15 million tons, in addition to the 8.5 million dollars that had previously been spent on the import of rebar. With growing criticism and complaints, the corporation canceled the local tender. According to Tinfu, the offer was canceled due to faulty technical requirements found in the tender document.
