DOHA: Share of local suppliers in awarded business opportunities as part of the Moushtarayat (Government Procurement and Contracting Conference & Exhibition) initiative, is likely to reach up to 90 percent within few years, said a top government official responsible for monitoring the procurement tenders of some 57 state-backed agencies.
As part of the government’s Moushtarayat initiative, local suppliers of goods and services, including the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are given priority in awarding up to 70 percent of the value of job contracts with a long term objective to establish a well-diversified, sustainable and vibrant private sector to reduce dependence on volatile oil and gas revenues of the energy-rich economy.
Preparations are in full swing, especially among companies and agencies who planning to participate in the third edition of the Moushtarayat event, which is going to be held in less than three weeks time.
The ‘Moushtarayat 2018’ (to be held at DECC from April 23 to 25) is expected to see business opportunities to the tune of QR60bn.
“The business opportunities available in Qatar are huge. I can say that the share of local supplier in government projects can reach up to 90 percent, or even more, in coming years provided they do the networking actively and properly,” Abdulaziz Zeid Rashid Al Taleb (pictured), Director of Department of Government Procurement Regulations (DGPR) at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) told The Peninsula on the sidelines of an event recently.
Al Taleb added: “Although we are already communicating with several government and private agencies, including the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Qatar Chamber and Qatar Development (QDB), which is very active in supporting the SMEs.”
According to reports, since the launch of the previous edition of the ‘Moushtarayat’ ( held in April 2017) till now, business opportunities worth QR28.7bn have already been awarded to local suppliers, including SMEs, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the QR41.3bn total value of the awarded contracts.
He reiterated that the number of job opportunities this year are almost the same or may be more, but local companies and suppliers need to do the networking with government agencies aggressively, and they must get registered with the MoF to get classified and obtain required certificates to participate in the tenders. Companies should always visit the official website of Moushtarayat and see the newspapers where tenders are announced twice a week.
To enhance the scale of benefits, he also encouraged the remaining entities (which are not part of the 57 listed agencies under the Moushtarayat law) to have some kind of networking system through which information about tenders can be shared and disseminated with local suppliers.
“Take the instance of oil and gas sector. There are a lot of companies in the industry, but I am not sure how they are operating, or sourcing supplies. They should also encourage and support local suppliers to participate in the tendering process,” noted Al Taleb.
About the impact of the blockade with regard to the availability of raw materials, and construction process of key projects, he said that every project is running on schedule and no shortage of any raw materials in the country.
“As a matter of fact the blockade has encouraged companies and local businesses to deal directly with manufacturers instead of going through third party or intermediaries, which is not only saving time but it is now more cost efficient and effective in terms of price of materials, shipping, logistics and delivery.”