| Danial Norjidi |
THE two-day ASEAN Competition Interface Workshop on Construction Sector was held at The Rizqun International Hotel on Thursday.
Attended by over 50 officials from competition authorities and construction sector regulators, the workshop was organised by the Department of Economic Planning and Development, Ministry of Finance and Economy, through the Department of Competition and Consumer Affairs in collaboration with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and ASEAN Secretariat, under the support of ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) through the Competition Law Implementation Programme (CLIP).
According to a press release, the workshop was facilitated by competition experts from the ACCC and the University of Melbourne, and offered insights on the recent development of the construction sector in the region and the key drivers of construction demand across Southeast Asia, and discussed why economies are more susceptible to anti-competitive practices during infrastructure growth period.
Participants from competition agencies and construction regulators from all 10 ASEAN member countries learnt the harmful effects of cartels and the reason why construction sector is more prone to cartels.
Bid rigging was specifically focussed on, highlighting the responsibilities of procurement officials to lookout for anti-collusion tender clauses.
Practical case studies were demonstrated by the experts and views exchanged on key challenges in addressing competition issues in the construction sector. Other aspects highlighted were the role of advocacy tools and complementarity of competition and regulatory instruments.
The workshop also heard from official of the ASEAN Secretariat on the work of the ASEAN Experts Group on Competition to strengthen the regional cooperation under the goal of ASEAN Competition Action Plan 2025.
Acting High Commissioner of Australia to Brunei Darussalam Leah Mottram, in her closing remarks, highlighted that cooperation between construction and competition officials is crucial to identify and stamp out illegal (anti-competitive) conduct.
She said that competition itself cannot be expected to thrive without the existence of a strong, efficient and capable competition regulator, working together with construction officials to detect and stop these undesirable practices.