I refer to H. K. Chan's letter headlined, 'Tender subject', which appeared in the South China Morning Post on May 26, and wish to make some clarifications about the award of the Penny's Bay reclamation contract at a price of $3.98 billion.
The Government is not making decisions based on what Mr Chan described as 'public emotion'.
Our decision has nothing to do with the fact that one of the joint venture partners of the lowest tenderer was the contractor of the public housing project in Yuen Chau Kok, which had 'short-pile' problems.
This alleged 'short-pile' incident was not taken into consideration in selecting the most suitable tenderer, since at the time, the result of the investigation into the incident was not yet available.
When the Government considers accepting a tender for a works contract, tender price is only one of the assessment criteria.
The other important criteria include the technical and financial capability of the tenderer, as well as the past performance.
