Ministry of Islamic Affairs has opened the opportunity to submit proposals for companies seeking to send pilgrims on Hajj to Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
The ministry said it will accept proposals from interested companies until February 23. The ministry will charge a fee of USD 646 for proposals and a pre-bid meeting for interested companies will be held on February 12.
The evaluation criteria of proposals include 10% for price, 85% for services and quality, while 5% is allocated for experience. The ministry will select four companies that score the highest marks and each company selected will be authorised to send 90 pilgrims to Makkah. The proposals will be evaluated by a committee of representatives from Attorney General's Office, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development, and Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Last year, complaints were submitted to Anti-Corruption Corruption (ACC) and a case was submitted to Civil Court regarding the awarding of Hajj quota to the companies. After investigations, ACC concluded the ministry failed to disqualify two proposals that lacked proper documentation.
ACC also recommended the proposal evaluation process, as well as requesting the ministry not to accept incomplete proposals.
Additionally, ACC recommended the ministry to include the proposal evaluation criteria in the information seat given to interested companies. Despite the findings of the investigation, ACC found no case of corruption in awarding quota last year.
Last year, a total of 5 companies were granted the license to send pilgrims to Hajj, including state-owned Maldives Hajj Corporation Limited (MHCL).