The Ministry of National Defense should solicit different views and be open to inter-agency cooperation to determine whether local firms have the capacity and ability to handle government shipbuilding projects, legislators said on Friday.
The comments came in light of further delays to the bidding process for the Hung Yun project, which is seeking contractors to develop a new type of amphibious warship.
Both the Hung Yun project and the minesweeper project awarded to Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co have suffered from a lack of financial expertise when designing and reviewing contracts, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said.
Engaging experts could help weed out unsuitable contractors such as Ching Fu, Wang said.
Ching Fu was contracted by the ministry to build six minesweepers, but the agreement was terminated last month after the company failed to meet contractual obligations.
After the cancelation, the ministry launched a general reassessment of its bidding procedures and defense needs, and delayed the projected bid for the Hung Yun project to May.
It is unknown whether the planned projects exceed the capacity and capabilities of local shipbuilders, Wang said, adding that such uncertainty could lead to increased overhead for shipbuilders, as well as reduced bidding interest.
The projects should be prioritized according to defense needs and the abilities of local shipbuilders should be determined in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Wang said.
Unlike arms purchases from the US, which are subject to exchange rate variations, there should not ebe big discrepancies between quotes and initial estimates for local projects, DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said.
The defense ministry should be more open to suggestions from other sectors, as bidder assessments and contract design should not be approached only from a military angle, Lo said.
The ministry should launch a general review of all of its procurement procedures, as it has proven to be incapable of halting a program after discovering potential flaws, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁) said.
KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲) said he would applaud it if the ministry simplified its procedures, but it should not scrap necessary assessments and reviews.
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