Al-Jadaan: New procurement law would strengthen transparency, promote fairness in competition

RIYADH — Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan emphasized that the new Government Tenders and Procurement Law represents an important step in advancing government tenders and procurement by strengthening governance and transparency. "It also improves the efficiency of planning and implementation, and promotes greater clarity, fairness, and equal opportunity in competition and contractual dealings," he said.In a statement, the minister expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on the occasion of the Cabinet’s approval of the new law. Al-Jadaan noted that the law builds on the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to develop regulatory frameworks that support the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, including promoting investment and enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of public finance. The minister stated that the law enables government entities to achieve their objectives and accelerate the effective and efficient implementation of projects and activities. Key provisions include merging the bid-opening and bid-evaluation committees into a single committee, enhancing the direct procurement method and raising its financial threshold, expanding limited tendering to include contracting with practitioners of liberal professions, and broadening the authorities of heads of government entities in deciding on procurement procedures and signing contracts. These measures are expected to streamline processes and accelerate decision-making. Al-Jadaan also noted that empowering the private sector and supporting its growth are among the key objectives of the new law. Accordingly, it requires private sector dues to be processed within prescribed timeframes before a government entity may enter into new contractual commitments. This will promote timely payment of such dues and strengthen confidence in government contracting. He explained that the new law supports the use of government tenders and procurement to advance economic and development objectives, including research, development and innovation, industrial localization, and knowledge transfer. "It establishes a regulatory framework for research, development and innovation, while further strengthening provisions governing industrial localization and knowledge transfer. These measures will enable government entities to make more effective use of procurement as a tool to advance industrial localization, build capabilities, and facilitate knowledge transfer to the Kingdom," the minister added.