The start of the Philippine Bureau of Customs’ National Single Window (NSW) Phase 2 project originally set for next month is getting more uncertain. This, after the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Department of Budget and Management decided to defer to this week its decision on whether it will declare a failed bidding for the P442-million project.
Joint venture partners Omni Prime Marketing Inc and Web Fontaine Group SZ-LLC as well as another joint venture concern composed of V Center for Economic Policy Research Inc and V Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations, Ltd earlier pre-qualified to bid for the project. But they were both later declared ineligible and given until Wednesday last week to submit their respective motion for reconsideration to the BAC.
Only Omni Prime and Web Fontaine beat the deadline.
If the BAC declares the partnership eligible, the bidding process would continue where it left off with the joint venture partners submitting a bid before being declared project winner. Otherwise, the bidding process will start from scratch.
The bidding for NSW 2 is being accelerated in the hopes that the country meets the 2015 deadline to hook up to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Single Window (ASW) project.
If NSW 2 starts as scheduled, the earliest the country can tap into the ASW is 2016. The project requires 36 months minimum to complete.
NSW 2 involves government-wide rationalization, standardization and harmonization of all trade data and enhancement of trade portals as well as the link of the NSW to the ASW.
Earlier, BOC deputy commissioner Ma. Caridad Manarang acknowledged the high probability of the Philippines missing the ASEAN deadline.
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