Page Seven / La Paz
Of a total of 15 tenders for highway construction in recent years, 14 favored foreign companies, including Chinese. One is the China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) which has seven contracts for 3,514 million dollars.
The Departmental Chamber of Construction of Santa Cruz (Cadecocruz) and the Bolivian Chamber of Construction (Caboco) ask that more opportunities be given to national companies that often complete projects as subcontractors of external firms.
Last week, the CHEC company was awarded the Sucre-Yamparáez double track, despite the fact that three national companies participated in the call.
“There is a marked favoritism towards foreign companies. In the last four to five years, ABC carried out 15 tenders and of those processes, 14 were awarded to foreign companies. Many do not finish the work and enter to conclude nationals at a lower price, “said Cadecocruz.
Before winning the construction of the Sucre-Yamparáez double lane, the company CHEC had already been awarded seven other contracts with ABC for a value of 3,514 million dollars, according to information from the company itself.
These are the San Borja-San Ignacio de Moxos projects, with a cost of 210 million dollars financed by the CAF Development Bank, and the rehabilitation of the Santa Cruz-Trinidad-San Javier and Puerto Varador-Trinidad highway in two lots for 71 million dollars with resources from the World Bank. Both projects are currently in execution.
In addition, the company signed contracts with ABC for the construction of highways between Charazani-Apolo-Tumupasa for an amount of 735 million dollars, financed by Eximbank, and the construction of the highway Trinidad-La Moroña-Guayaramerín-La Moroña section. -Puerto Usárez for 1,216 million dollars, also from Eximbank.
Likewise, it has a signed contract for the construction of the Santa Rosa-Remanso-Puerto Villazón highway for an amount of 569 million dollars.
According to Cadecocruz, many foreign companies win tenders by proposing lower reference prices that are sometimes below costs, and then change orders are made and costs rise.
The chamber asks that greater priority be given to national companies, that the tenders be divided into two or three sections.
The entity proposed a few years ago a project so that in any tender the participating companies have a national partner with a 30% participation.
The president of Caboco, Luis Bustillo, maintained that there are some limitations in the bidding processes as a general and professional experience that is often not in accordance with the national reality, which is contradictory because the works end up being carried out by local firms as subcontractors. .
Bolivian companies have experience and can access the amounts, which is why three consortiums participated in the last tender for the Sucre – Yamparáez dual carriageway.
“There are many highway projects in which there is no access to national companies. The same happens with hospitals, in 2019, for example, there was a call to build hospitals. But among the requirements was experience in the construction of three major hospitals in five years”, observed the president of Caboco.
Likewise, he regretted that with the selection of foreign companies to carry out public works, the profits go abroad instead of being reinvested in Bolivia. “Working on major works is requested because the companies want to be part of the economic reactivation, we pay workers, banks and they contribute in taxes based on the payment and advancement of payroll,” he said.
