Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday defended his ministry’s decision to award a contract to import military-grade explosives to a company better known for selling furniture, after a lawmaker questioned the procurement process.
A day earlier, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said that Tainan-based Home-Max Furniture Trading on Tuesday last week won a tender to import a batch of RDX for less than NT$590 million (US$18.8 million).
Wang questioned whether a relatively small furniture trading company should have been eligible to bid for a contract involving explosive materials, let alone secure it.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
RDX, also known as hexogen, is a powerful explosive with strong detonation characteristics and is widely used in military applications, including in C-4.
Koo said that no companies in Taiwan are capable of producing RDX, which is why the ministry must rely on imports.
Any qualified international trading company could submit a bid, he said.
In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday said that Home-Max was the sole bidder.
Although registered as a furniture trading company, it also engages in international trade and the wholesale of chemical materials, the ministry said.
To ensure the company can fulfill the contract, the ministry said it has asked Home-Max to present an export permit for the explosives and documentation identifying the original manufacturer by a set deadline.
The ministry added that it would inspect the RDX shipment upon arrival to verify its origin and ensure it meets required standards.
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