The British Columbia Construction Association says B.C. Housing is imposing "onerous bidding conditions" on two projects in Prince George.
The BCCA issued alerts this week for work on Westwood Court and Hart Haven in which it "strongly advises" contractors to consider the risks associated with the terms.
B.C. Housing, which manages social housing on behalf of the provincial government, is seeking bids on remediating the exterior of Westwood Court and on renovations at Hart Haven.
Among its concerns, the BCCA claims that while B.C. Housing has issued a request for proposals for the Westwood Court project, it is actually a tender and that wording regarding the pricing of materials for that project is vague.
As for Hart Haven, concerns raised include that while document refers to the scoring of the price submitted, it does not provide weightings and that B.C. Housing says it will undertake an economic analysis of alternative bid prices.
"This indicates that alternative prices would be considered in the evaluation of the Bids, which is nor fair or transparent," the BCCA says. "A preference could be for the selection of one favoured bidder."
In a response, B.C. Housing spokesperson Rajvir Rao said the agency is committed to fair, open and transparent processes and takes the BCCA's notification "very seriously."
"We have regular quarterly meetings with the B.C. Construction Association where procurement practices are discussed with an objective of understanding both sides concerns," Rao added. "The identified concerns from the BCCA have been part of our regular discussions."
