The Anti-Corruption Agency identified violations in a public procurement by Uzbekistan Airports in the purchase of body cameras worth 6.8 billion soums.
According to the Agency, during the procurement, the bids were not fully and objectively assessed. In addition, with affiliated persons involved in bids, and a number of errors were made during the evaluation process.
“The awarding minutes of the procurement commission were cancelled based on the agency’s submission. The documents collected during the study and analysis were sent to law enforcement agencies for legal action,” the agency said in a statement.
Uzbekistan Airports said that the procurement had been carried out “in strict accordance with the law and established public procurement procedures.” The bids were held using the lowest price method, and the company with the lowest price was automatically declared the winner.
“The final contract topped 4.3 billion soums (including VAT). The 6.8 billion soums indicated in the [agency's] publication were the starting price, determined as the average value of the collected commercial proposals. The proposals were collected through the official website uzairports.com," the company specified.
The airport operator added that at the time of the selection and evaluation, no direct affiliation between the participants had been identified. The company stressed that the third company mentioned in the media reports had not bid in the tender, but only had a common mailing address with the reserve winner. "The fact of the affiliation of some companies was revealed after the completion of the procedure and the approval of results," the company noted.
Therefore, as per the submission of the Anti-Corruption Agency and the decision of Uzbekistan Airports, the results of the procurement and the tender have been declared null and void, the company concluded.
