CCTV systems in Myanmar Back to contents 39 city. As discussed in the following pages, the contract to buy equipment was given to Huawei without a due tender process, which led the Ministry of Transport and Communication to object to the decision and the project draft. Due to criticisms and concerns about Huawei’s involvement66 in possible spying, the Mandalay Regional Government ‘carefully’67 revised the contract draft in June 2019 and submitted it to the President’s Office for review. There was a delay until May 2020, when the government held a Swiss challenge for the tenders and Huawei was again awarded the contract. A Swiss challenge is a procurement process that requires a public authority (usually an agency of government) which has received an unsolicited bid for a public project (such as a port, road, or railway), or for services to be provided to the government, to publish the bid and invite third parties to match or better it.68 In July 2020, MCDC called for open tenders to install individual loop sensors at traffic points in six townships, according to the government’s tender website. Naypyidaw In Naypyidaw, Huawei-made CCTVs had already gone live by December 2020. Under a Naypyidaw Council (a regional government body) project worth MMK 4 billion (USD 2.7 million),69 335 cameras with facial recognition technology and licence plate recognition were installed across eight townships in Naypyidaw.70 The tender for installation was called in 2019 and awarded to two companies founded by a family member of the former military general: Naung Yoe Technologies for cameras and cables installation, and Linn IT Solution for control centre construction.71 The tender process did not indicate where CCTVs would be installed but it appears most major roads, traffic junctions, and toll gates are under surveillance – and possibly many more places that are not reported. According to the announcement from the companies and tenders, CCTVs have also been installed in Naypyidaw City Hall, housing compounds, the airport, and parliament buildings. Police have direct access to operate the Naypyidaw control centre, and will keep the footage for 60 days.72 Given the lack of transparency about the process and specifications, it is not clear how Huawei’s current role and status have come to exist.