A study on the effectiveness of the most advantageous tendering method in the public works of Taiwan

The award of construction contracts in the public work projects in Taiwan by the most advantageous tendering method (MAT) has gradually increased since 1999. The statistics of this study indicate that MAT is mainly adopted for project procurement in non-engineering departments, and is rarely adopted in engineering departments. This study, through expert interview, comprehensive questionnaires, and collection of viewpoints of clients, contractors, and architects/engineers (A/Es), examines the implementation of MAT, and draws the following conclusions: (1) All three parties, that are clients, contractors and architects/engineers (A/Es), agree, in general, that MAT is better than lowest bid tendering (LBT) as a contract award mechanism for public construction projects. (2) All three parties suggest that there are rooms for improvement for the MAT method, such as the authorities should establish some regulatory conditions to minimize the unfairness of the tender evaluation procedure.