OKP WON TENDER FOR PIE VIADUCT DUE TO ITS ‘GOOD TRACK RECORD’

Dear A.S.S. Editor

In a sign that our Ministers and the men in white are losing touch with reality, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min told Parliament today that Or Kim Peow Contractors won the bid for the building of the PIE viaduct because they had the lowest tender price, and they had a good track record.

it was also stated that Or Kim Peow (OKP) Contractors’ bid for the viaduct construction project in Upper Changi Road East was not thrown out despite a fatal incident at one of its work sites two years ago because investigations into that case had not concluded at that time. And in a further bid to justify themselves, Dr Lam noted that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) tightened the tender evaluation process for construction projects two years ago allowing contractors with poor safety performance to be disqualified from tenders. In fact, 16 bids from 10 contractors have been thrown out this way since the change, he added.

Dr Lam said OKP’s bid was not disqualified, given that the Manpower Ministry was still investigating the 2015 fatal accident at one of its work sites in Yio Chu Kang. But the firm was given a low safety performance score during the tender evaluation, he added. However, their overall score was the highest eventually, given its lowest tender price and its “good track record in completing many similar infrastructural projects over the past 10 years”, said Dr Lam. That was why OKP was awarded the contract, he added.

The collapsed viaduct claimed one life, and injured 10 other workers.

Kerry Liew

A.S.S. Contributor