S’pore SOE contenders await tender results

Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) is still evaluating bids for the pre-qualification tender stage of the standard operating environment of ICT (SOE) for schools and educational institutions, ZDNet Asia has learned. The results were originally scheduled to be unveiled this month.

The Ministry of Education said in May it received four offers, the closing of a pre-qualification bid to favorites potential service providers. Proposals were submitted by Ednovate consortium led by SingTel @ SG, a consortium led by Singapore Technologies Advanced Equipment (ST) Electronics, a Civica-led consortium, and local systems integrator NCS.

At that time, the ministry said the results of the pre-qualification tender would be released in July, with the final offer of April 2009 target.

However, ZDNet Asia understands that the Ministry of Education is still evaluating the proposals and has not made a decision. It is unclear whether the results of the exercise will be released.

When contacted, representatives of ST Electronics and NCS confirmed they have not heard of the Ministry of Education regarding the results of the pre-qualification round. ST Electronics spokesperson said the consortium expects the results “to be announced soon.”

The first phase of the SOE project last year there were two rounds of delay in the announcement of the winning bid for the official bidding. The project was finally awarded to a consortium led by EDS oneMeridian.

The initiative aims to create a government of a common information infrastructure and communications to improve operational efficiency, and will include the standardization of desktop, messaging and network environment across most public sector bodies in Singapore.