Following is a question by the Hon Augustine Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
Question:
Some members of the construction industry have relayed that in recent years, the Government has been launching works projects at varying paces, and the timing of tendering for various projects is unevenly distributed, resulting in the industry being caught in the predicament of "dying from overeating one moment and dying from starvation the next". Regarding the tendering arrangements for public works projects of various government departments and projects undertaken by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through entrustment or subvention (NGO projects), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information in respect of the public works projects of various government departments and the NGO projects in each of the past three years: (i) the number of tenders invited, (ii) the number of successful tenders, (iii) the number of unsuccessful tendering, (iv) the total value involved in the award of contracts, (v) the average number of days taken from the closure of tender exercises to the award of contracts and, (vi) the time taken for the five projects which had taken the longest time, together with a breakdown by government departments and NGOs;
(2) whether the Government has plans to further shorten the tendering process, such as by enhancing the e-Tendering System and expediting the assessment of tenders; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given that during the debate on the Members' motion on "Reviewing the priorities for public works to ensure enhanced speed and efficiency of key projects" in this Council on July 16 last year, the Secretary for Development indicated that the Government had made a Medium Range Forecast of the capital works expenditure for the next few years, which was meant to avoid drastic fluctuations in the volume of public works projects and to provide government departments with an indicator for arranging the priorities of projects, whether the Government will, in planning public works projects, further maintain communication with the industry and, where practicable, adjust the timing for launching the projects to tie in with the overall resources and capacity of the construction industry, thereby avoiding drastic fluctuations in construction volume; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The reply to the three parts of the question raised by the Hon Augustine Wong is as follows:
(1) The procurement of works projects involves a number of procedures, including tender invitation, tender evaluation and approval of tender recommendation, etc. Sufficient time must be allowed to ensure that the entire evaluation process is conducted in a rigorous and comprehensive manner.
With regard to tender invitation, we are required to comply with the relevant requirements of the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization (WTO GPA). Where the estimated contract value exceeds the threshold (Note) stipulated under the WTO GPA, the tender invitation period must be no less than 40 days. For contracts that are more complex in nature or of higher value, the tender invitation period may be extended as needed. For contracts with an estimated value below the above threshold, although they are not subject to the WTO GPA requirements, we generally allow a tender invitation period of no less than three weeks, so as to enable bidders to have sufficient time to fully understand various works requirements and assess the associated risks for preparing competitive tenders.
As regards tender evaluation, we generally adopt the two-envelope system. The evaluation is conducted in two stages: we will first assess tenderers' technical competence and past performance, followed by considering their tender prices. During the process, clarification may be sought from tenderers in regard to their submissions, and legal advice may be obtained where necessary to confirm the validity of the tenders. The whole evaluation process typically takes about 2.5 to three months to complete.
For the past three financial years (i.e. 2022/23 to 2024/25), statistics on works tenders conducted by government departments and non-governmental organisations, including (i) the number of tenders invited, (ii) the number of successful bids (i.e. the number of contracts awarded), (iii) the number of tenders not awarded, (iv) the total value of contracts awarded, and (v) the average number of days from tender closing to contract award, are presented in the Annex. Approximately 80 per cent of the works projects were awarded within five months from the tender closing date.
For the five projects that took the longest time from tender closing to contract award, the duration ranged from 17 to 23 months. Given special circumstances, these projects required a longer processing period, with the main reasons summarised below:
(i) For one of the projects, as the tender prices submitted by the tenderers had exceeded the budget, the department concerned had to revise the design of the building foundation and engage all bidders for negotiations. The bidders were then invited to adjust their tender prices having regard to the revised design. Additional time was hence required to complete the relevant procedures;
(ii) For three football pitch refurbishment projects, tenderers were required to propose an artificial turf system in their tenders. As the system involved product patents, the department concerned had to request supplementary information from the tenderers a number of times and verify, through legal advisers, whether the proposed manufacturers were the patent holders. This led to a longer tender evaluation period as compared with typical works projects; and
(iii) For one of the projects, its funding application had to be considered and approved at a later meeting of the Public Works Subcommittee (PWSC) and the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council respectively, having regard to project priorities. Consequently, the processing time was extended.
(2) From time to time, the Government introduces new measures to expedite the procurement process of public works projects, so that works contracts can be awarded as early as possible. Such measures include:
(i) In September 2020, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau issued an internal circular requiring Controlling Officers, under normal circumstances, to adopt parallel tendering arrangement (viz. tender invitation for a project may commence prior to the approval of funding) when procuring works contracts. This arrangement enables works contracts to be awarded promptly after funding approval is obtained from the FC. It also helps works departments prepare more accurate project cost estimates for vetting by the PWSC and the FC, while expediting the procurement process.
(ii) In June 2022, the Development Bureau (DEVB) launched an electronic tendering system for public works projects, applicable to works contracts requiring approval by the Public Works Tender Board or the Central Tender Board. In addition to enhancing procurement efficiency, the system streamlines procedures by eliminating the cumbersome workflow associated with the handling of traditional paper-based tenders. We plan to enhance the system's functionality, including exploring the use of AI to support tender evaluation, thereby further improving efficiency.
(iii) Procuring departments also organise pre-submission briefings to contractors, reminding them of the key tender requirements, thereby avoiding delay to the tender evaluation process due to spending time on clarifications with tenderers. Furthermore, whenever more serious errors are identified in tender submissions, we will communicate with the industry through contractors' associations to help improve the quality of tenders.
(3) All along, we maintain close communication with the construction industry, engaging regularly with different stakeholders (including the Construction Industry Council, major contractors' associations, and consultant associations, etc) to understand the industry's needs and formulate appropriate measures to help address the challenges. In fact, the Government has been maintaining a high level of capital works expenditure over the years.
In addition, forecast of public works tenders for the coming year is regularly published and updated in the electronic tendering system of the DEVB and on the websites of various works departments. This facilitates contractors in grasping relevant information earlier for planning and preparation of their tender submissions.
Note: According to the prevailing requirements, public works contracts with an estimated value exceeding $52,124,001 are subject to the requirements of the WTO GPA.
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:53
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