RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE GPA/W/24/Add.4
8October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4250)
Original: English Committee onGovernment Procurement
QUESTIONNAIRE ONINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Response byHong Kong, China
Addendum
Theattached communication contains thereplies from theHong Kong Economic andTrade
Office tothequestionnaire onInformation Technology inGovernment Procurement contained in
document GPA/W/24, dated 22August 1996.GPA/W/24/Add.4
Page2
REPLIES BYHONG KONG, CHINA TOTHE QUESTIONNAIRE ON
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
1. Could delegations giveabriefdescription ofanystepstaken orplanned tointroduce information
technology intopublic procurement? Ifso,doesthiscover contracts which arecovered under the
1994 Agreement? Atalllevels ofgovernment? Intheevent thatdelegations arenotconsidering
introducing information technology intopublic procurement, could theyexplain thereasons?
TheGovernmentoftheHKSARhasestablishedseveralInternethomepagestoprovideinformation
onprocurements conducted byallcentral andsubcentral entities. Information provided includes forecast
ofpublic works tenders, tender notices, procurement procedures andcontract awards. TheHong Kong
Housing Authority, anAnnex 3entity, alsomaintains anInternet website forthedissemination oftender
notices andforthecollection ofbidsrelating toprocurement ofcomputers. Most ofthetenders covered
bytheWTO GPA arepublicized inthese homepages.
2. What function(s) would information technology serve insuchsystems andwhowillbetheusers?
Information technology iscurrently being usedmainly fornotification oftender invitation and
dissemination oftender information. Entities areconsidering thefeasibility toextend theuseof
information technology tofunctions suchasdissemination oftender documents, submission oftenders,
communication ofclarifications onthetender documents, etc.
AllInternet subscribers canaccess theinformation through theInternet. Allinterested suppliers
could contact theofficers stated intender notices forasetofthetender documents andanyadditional
information onthetenders.
3. Could delegations describe thetechnical aspects ofthesystems inuseorplanned? Inparticular
asregards infrastructure/hardware-software anditsoptions/standards?
Thehomepages areaccessible bycomputers ofconfiguration 386orabove through modems.
Connection software isprovided byInternet Service Providers (ISP).
4. Could delegations describe anylimitations affecting access toinformation available anduse
ofsystems? Howwideispotential access tointerested suppliers? What aretheaccess possibilities
forsuppliers ofother signatory countries? What possible obstacles toaccess might ariseforsuppliers
inother signatory countries?
Theaccess tothehomepages isopentosuppliers allovertheworld, regardless ofwhether
theyarefrom signatories oftheWTO GPA ornot.
5. Forthose Parties whousedatabases which listgovernment procurement opportunities:
(i) What arethenames oftheirdatabases?
Names oftheInternet homepages are:
Finance Bureau (FB)Homepage
(http://www/info.gov.hk/fb)GPA/W/24/Add.4
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Works Bureau (WB) Homepage
(http://www.wb.wpelb.gov.hk)
Government Supplies Department (GSD) Homepage
(http://www.info.gov.hk/gsd/tender.htm)
Printing Department (PD) Homepage
(http://www.info.gov.hk/pd)
Urban Services Department (USD) Homepage
(http://www.usd.gov.hk)
Regional Services Department (RSD) Homepage
(http://www.info.gov.hk/rsd/index.htm)
Housing Authority (HA) Homepage
(http://www.info.gov.hk/hd/index.htm)
Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCRC) Homepage
(http://www.kcrc.com)
(ii) How longhave thedatabases been operational andhowmany suppliers usethe
databases?
TheGSDHomepage hasbeeninoperation since December 1995withapproximately
6,000 accesses tothedatabase permonth.
TheFBHomepage, WBHomepage, PDHomepage havebeeninoperation since1996.
Nostatistics onthenumber ofaccesses tothese Homepages hasbeenkept.
(iii) Isafeecharged tosuppliers using thesystem? Ifso,howmuch, andwhatisincluded
inthefee?
Access tothese Homepages isfreeofcharge.
(iv) Cansuppliers obtain tender documentation electronically? Ifso,how?
Tender documentation inelectronic format isnotyetavailable. Interested suppliers
can,however, request forhardcopies oftender documents byemail orbyfax. In
some cases, tender specification inCD-ROM willbeissued toconsultants, contractors
andtenderers onaproject basis. Aspecial team isnowworking onthefeasibility
ofusing theInternet andrelated technologies forthedissemination oftender
documentation andreceipt ofbids.
(v) Howisinformation onthedatabases organized?
Thetender information isgrouped according totherespective closing dates and
procuring entities. Abriefoutline oftheprocurement information would belisted
outforselection bysuppliers.GPA/W/24/Add.4
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(vi) Dothedatabases offeranyother features?
No.
(vii) What istheapproximate number ofprocurement opportunities listed onthedatabases
annually?
Approximately 800procurement opportunities arelisted annually onGSD'sHomepage.
Nostatistics werekeptonthenumber ofprocurement opportunities published inother
homepages.
(viii) Arethesystems managed bythegovernment oraprivate company?
TheHomepages aremanaged andupdated bytherespective bureaux anddepartments
oftheHKSAR Government.
(ix) CanParties 'databases beinterrogated using international standards, suchasSQL-
Standard Query Language?
Notatthemoment.
(x) Areallnotices which arerequired tobepublished under Articles IXandXVIII:1 of
theAgreement -forentities inAnnexes 1,2and3-alsoavailable ondatabases? If
so,dosuchnotices contain atleasttheminimum information required tobepublished
under Articles IXandXVIII:1?
Tender notices andtender awards publicized ontheInternet contain alltheinformation
required tobepublished under Articles IXandXVIII:1 oftheAgreement.
(xi) HowareAgreement-covered notices identified?
Forthose purchases thatarecovered bytheAgreement, thetender information will
include aremark stating thatthetender iscovered bytheAgreement.
(xii) Towhatextent doeseachtypeofnotice contained indatabases conform toastandard
structure?
Standard formats arebeing usedasfaraspossible soastoensure thatallnecessary
information isincluded.
(xiii) Isanyparticular classification usedinsuchnotices todescribe purchases and,ifso,
whatclassification?
No.
(xiv) Where databases exist inanon-WTO language, towhat extent arenotices and
information summarized inaWTO language?
TheHomepages areinEnglish which isoneoftheofficial languages oftheWTO.GPA/W/24/Add.4
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6. Forthose Parties whoareinvolved inaction intheareaofelectronic commerce:
(i) Pleaseprovidefullinformationonprojectsandplanswithregardtoelectroniccommerce.
TheGovernment Supplies Department (GSD) which isthecentral procurement agent
fortheGovernment oftheHKSAR iscurrently conducting afeasibility study on
electronic commerce. AProject Team wassetupinMay1997toconduct anInternet
Pilotstudy onGSD'sprocurement processes. Objectives ofthestudy are:
- toidentify means ofimproving service delivery andinformation exchange
between GSD, itssuppliers andgovernment departments using Internet and
related technologies;
- toenhance theefficiency ofGSD'sprocurement process; and
- tobuild thefoundation forbroader development ofInternet usage within
Government.
TheWorks Bureau which oversees thepublic works projects isplanning tomake use
ofinformation technology tofacilitate tenders forworks contracts. Thetrialproject
willinclude fourphases:
(1) Alltender notices andawards onworks contracts oftheHKSAR willbe
publicized ontheWBHomepage;
(2) contract documents nowinhardcopies willbeconverted intotheappropriate
software format;
(3) trialoncomputerization oftender processing willbeconducted;
(4) astudy ontendering through theInternet willbeconducted.
(ii) Could thoseParties whohaveexperience withelectronic commerce provide information
onsuchexperiences?
N.A.