DOHA: The forum on the government procurement plan for 2024, which kicked off on Sunday and lasts until Oct 20, discussed projects that the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) and the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) plan to implement during 2024 with a value-approaching QR70bn.
Two presentations by Ashghal and Kahramaa during the first two days of the forum showed that the value of 116 public tenders that Ashghal will launch for 2024 amounts to around QR59bn. These public tenders include developing existing and new lands; connecting and improving roads; projects for sewage and marine outfalls; maintaining road networks and sewage; beautification of roads, public places, highways, and public buildings; and operational public procurement.
Meanwhile, the value of 279 public tenders offered by Kahramaa for 2024 amounts to about QR8.9bn in three areas, including the electricity networks sector, the water networks sector, and the corporation's service departments sector.
Ashghal Projects Affairs Director Eng Yousef Abdulrahman Al Emadi, during the presentation on the main projects plan for the Public Works Authority during 2024, said that the total tenders offered by Ashghal during 2024 reach around 116 projects at an estimated cost of about QR59bn, of which QR28.4bn are allocated for constructing around 41 projects in developing existing and new lands, as well as connecting and improving roads, while QR11.8bn is the value of 21 tenders for the establishment of sanitation and outfall projects.
Eng Al Emadi reviewed some of Ashghal's achievements in various sectors, stressing the authority's keenness on supporting local companies, whether contractors, manufacturers, or consultants, and decreasing dependence on foreign companies in implementing infrastructure projects, in line with Qatar's strategy aimed at relying on national expertise and providing the appropriate environment for Qatari companies to grow.
He said that these efforts led to an increase in the percentage of the use of local products in its projects from 38 percent in 2016, meaning that the local product used in the Authority’s projects is between 75 and 80 percent, stressing that the authority has implemented and managed an efficient and sustainable infrastructure over the past few years for future generations.
Addressing the forum, Head of Procurement at Kahramaa Sarah Abdullah Ahmadi said that the total value of Kahramaa projects for 2024 is estimated to read around QR8.9bn, divided into 279 tenders, including 62 tenders related to the supply of items, 117 tenders related to the provision of services, 67 tenders related to the supply of items and the provision of services, and 33 tenders related to contracting.
Sectorwise, she indicated that 83 tenders in the electricity networks sector amount to QR5.7bn, 41 tenders in the water networks amount to QR2.2bn, while the tenders for the service departments sector amount to QR958mn.
Additionally, the Government Procurement Plan Forum for the year 2024 shed light on the Ministry of Finance's services and underscored the advantages of the law regulating tenders and bids (auctions) and its executive regulations, in addition to learning about local value opportunities and their economic impact, the mechanism and developments of classifying companies and evaluating the performance of companies in implementing government projects.
Director of Government Procurement Regulations Department at the Ministry of Finance Nayef Moaid Al Hababi said that 2,528 tenders will be issued in 2024, distributed among 16 economic sectors, including more than 100 economic activities, according to the AIESEC classification.
In relation to tender launch dates, he explained that 2024's Q1 will see the issuance of 1,570 tenders or 65 percent of the total tenders for 2024, Q2 with 642 tenders, Q3 with 240 tenders, and Q4 with 76.
Al Hababi pointed out that the tenders of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), the Primary Health Care Corporation and Aspire Zone Foundation alone constitute about 70 percent of the state's total tenders for 2024.
The Director of Government Procurement Regulations explained that around 85 percent of tenders fall within five main economic sectors; the information and communications technology sector with 644 tenders, wholesale and retail trade sector with 524 tenders, construction sector with 360 tenders, professional, practical, and technical activities sector with 351 tenders, and administrative and support service activities with 63 tenders.
Al Hababi said that the forum serves as a confirmation of the private sector's role as an essential partner in achieving sustainable development and the strengthening of the national economy, particularly in job creation, innovation stimulation, and the provision of basic services in the country.
In turn, Director of National Product Competitiveness Support at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) Saif Jassim Al Kuwari noted the role of framework agreements in supporting local industries, stating that national industries come at the top of the state's priorities when it comes to development, being the foundation of a national economy's development, and a crucial element to create self-sufficiency, in addition to creating a future for coming generations, as set by the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Al Kuwari said that the State of Qatar is currently experiencing a noticeable rise in the number of factories operating in the country, standing at around 806 factories, which support local products and localizing supply chains.
The Director of National Product Competitiveness Support at MOCI said that the forum is a pioneering national platform to explore future prospects and government procurement plans, highlighting the state's efforts in supporting national products and expanding their scope to be a major tributary of the national economy. Al Kuwari pointed out that MOCI's participation in the forum is proof of its commitment to activating the economic role of national industries and Qatari companies, in addition to consolidating the true partnership between the government and the private sector, in supporting and strengthening the national economy.
