Contracting Conference Reviews Rules and Qualification

The second International Contracting Conference and Exhibition opened its 2021 sessions under the patronage of Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail.

The first day's panel on new laws and regulations featured Eng. Hani Al-Mojil, Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for Labor Market Policies, and Eng. Saad bin Shuail, Secretary of the National Building Code Committee.

They explained how new regulations support labor market development and economic growth by providing clear rules and removing obstacles for investors and businesses. Nasser Al-Hajri, SCA's Head of Sector Services, moderated the session.

A session on establishment qualification began with Dr. Fahad bin Mushait, Deputy Governor for Investment and Business Development at the State Properties General Authority. He outlined investor prequalification, project announcements, bid submission and evaluation, negotiations, design revisions, award and contracting, supported by assessment criteria.

Bashir Al-Anazi, Director of Operations Management Support at Tatweer Buildings Company, described its contractor registration, qualification, classification, tendering and award procedures. Applications are reviewed and completed before referral to the registration and qualification committee. Approved applicants are added to the tender selection database.

Eng. Khalid Al-Salloum, Director of Service Provider Management at the National Housing Company, explained how providers can register through the company's online portal.

A workshop on submitting payment claims featured Musaed Al-Abdullatif, Business Development Director at the National Center for Government Resource Systems, representing Etimad.

He explained that Etimad allows private businesses to submit and track claims electronically. It also enables the Ministry of Finance and oversight bodies to monitor processing against service-level agreements and provides information on private-sector amounts due.

In a contractor qualification licensing workshop, SCA Licensing Team Leader Eng. Khalid Al-Surayyi said the licensing strategy was built around the Authority's wider strategy. Licensing aims to ensure contractors meet minimum qualification and capability standards.

The final workshop featured Eng. Abdullah Al-Ghasham, Director of Construction at the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. He discussed pre-award qualification, performance development, and databases for monitoring contractor and factory performance. Performance indicators help improve quality and efficiency.

The conference continues for two more days, with more than 28 participating organizations and 32 speakers from Saudi Arabia and abroad. It supports Saudi Vision 2030 and provides a forum for industry leaders and decision-makers to connect.