In the Abai region, a dispute has flared up over the results of a tender for road repairs worth around 2 billion tenge. The runner-up in the competition claimed there were possible discrepancies in the documents confirming the company's experience, which could have affected the tender outcome.
WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE DISPUTE
As reported by journalist Mikhail Kozachkov on his Telegram channel ‘Kozachkov offside’, the tender was won by KazNIPI DORTRANS LLP.
The complainant alleges that the company may have provided false information about previously completed works. According to them, this allowed it to meet the requirements and win the contract under the public procurement process.
As evidence of experience, the application included a memorandum with the akimat of the city of Tekeli, rather than a full contract. The documentation also contained a letter of thanks from the Housing and Communal Services (HCS) department and certificates of work completed, which were accepted by the client.
WHICH DOCUMENTS RAISED QUESTIONS
Particular attention in the complaint is given to the dates and details of the documents. For example, the certificates of work completed for 2017 use a stamp bearing the city name Nur-Sultan, even though Kazakhstan's capital only received this name in 2019 and used it until 2022.
HOW IS THIS CONNECTED TO A PREVIOUS COURT CASE
One of the certificates relates to work on the ‘Taldykorgan – Kalbatau – Ust-Kamenogorsk’ highway. However, as stated in the complaint, in 2024, during a judicial hearing, the question of including KazNIPI DORTRANS LLP in the register of dishonest public procurement participants was discussed.
At that time, the client, KazAvtoZhol NC JSC, reported that it had no information about the company carrying out repair work on this section. Yet the company had listed this work in its experience, stating that it had provided author supervision.
WHY THE SITUATION RAISES QUESTIONS
In the new tender for the repair of five road sections in the Abai region, this same experience was again included in the company's documents and accepted by the client — KazAvtoZhol NC JSC.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The public procurement system in the construction sector assumes that a key factor in selecting a contractor is confirmed experience in carrying out similar works. This is why the accuracy of such data directly affects the results of tenders.