New gov’t tenders law to balance opportunities, contractual dealings: Al-Jadaan

Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan

Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said the new Government Tenders & Procurement Law represents a key step in developing government tendering and procurement practices by enhancing governance and transparency, improving the efficiency of planning and execution, and promoting clarity, fairness, and equal opportunities in competition and contractual dealings.

The new law will help government entities achieve their objectives and accelerate the implementation of their projects and operations more effectively. Key provisions supporting these objectives include merging the bid opening and bid evaluation committees into a single committee, developing the direct procurement method and raising its financial threshold, and enhancing the limited tendering method to include contracts with self-employed professionals. The law also expands the powers of heads of government entities, helping simplify procedures and expedite decision-making, the minister added, as cited by state-run news agency SPA.

He further stated that the law supports the use of government tenders and procurement to achieve a number of economic and development objectives by strengthening regulatory frameworks that support research and development, innovation, industrial localization, and knowledge transfer.

In this regard, the law provides for the establishment of a regulatory framework to support research, development, and innovation. It also strengthens the framework governing industrial localization and knowledge transfer, enabling government entities to make more effective use of these tools while supporting the localization of industries, capacity building, and the transfer of knowledge to the Kingdom.

Al-Jadaan also noted that empowering and growing the private sector is among the key objectives of the new law. It requires government entities to settle their financial obligations to private-sector companies within the prescribed payment periods before they can enter into new contractual commitments. This, in turn, is expected to improve compliance with payment deadlines and strengthen confidence in government contracts.

He said the new law builds on the government's efforts to develop regulatory frameworks that support the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, including encouraging investment and improving the efficiency and sustainability of public finances.

According to Argaam’s data, Saudi Arabia's Cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a meeting held in Jeddah yesterday, issued several decisions, including the approval of the Government Tenders and Procurement Law.