Invitation for a debate: "Public Purpose Investments and Public Procurement Procedures – investment-friendly development of the energy sector”
“Polityka”, Słupecka 6 st., Warsaw
23 October2014 (Thursday), 11h00
As emphasized by the experts, Poland is facing the need for a thorough reform and development. This applies to strategic investments, in particular strategic investments in infrastructure.
In the pragmatic approach adopted in Poland, the sole criterion in public tender procedures is the lowest price. This approach is not required by any Polish legislation or European Union directive, yet according to our data, 95% of public procurement procedures in the construction sector in Poland are carried out based solely on the price criterion. In the European Union this proportion does not exceed 30%, and about 20% in terms of the overall value of tenders.
The consequences of making price the sole criterion in contractor selection usually include delays in the construction process and, primarily, lower quality. The excessive cost cutting approach usually leads to a later growth in expenses, e.g. in the form of higher operating costs and the need for refurbishment works. As a consequence, huge amounts of money may be wasted, and the national implementation potential is limited. In general, all this means wasting the unique opportunity for developing the Polish economy.
The Polish law in many cases does not prohibit multi-parameter evaluation of tender bids. However, such initiatives are often blocked by supervision institutions that are unable to assess the significance of adopted criteria other than price. The reasons for this situation are usually the lack of necessary competence to assess criteria adopted in more complex projects, and the lack of courage to make decisions on the side of officials. The price criterion allows decision-makers to avoid professional responsibility.
The diagnosed problem is not unsolvable, as clearly proven by the European practice. Given the above-mentioned facts, a public discussion should be undertaken on the issue of selection criteria adopted in tender procedures.
As market experts we would like to propose a public debate with the aim to discuss possible solutions which can bring about appropriate development of the investment market in Poland in the energy sector.
In case of any questions concerning the conference and the session please contact Agnieszka Ferreira (Project Manager of Procesy Inwestycyjne), at: komunikacja@proinwestycje.pl.
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