KUWAIT: Acting Secretary General at CAPT Osama Al-Duaij.

KUWAIT: The Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) implements government public procurement programs for the supply of goods and products, delivery of services and execution of construction work on behalf of relevant government entities. Osama Al-Duaij, Acting Secretary General at CAPT, spoke to Kuwait Times about the agency's work.

"CAPT's role in servicing relevant government entities and bidders includes registration, classification and qualification of general contractors, suppliers, service providers and consultants," Duaij said. "Regulating public procurement procedures, control of public procurement processes, enforcing public tender rules and procedures of bidding and awarding are also within its ambit, along with control and audit of variation orders, extensions and renewals of existing contracts, managing complaints and taking proper action through the CAPT board of directors and the complaints committee."

According to Duaij, governance, transparency and providing equal opportunities are the main principles upon which the Central Agency for Public Tenders performs its work, provides its services and carries out its duties. "The procedural work of CAPT General Secretariat includes procedural review and audit of prequalification and tender documents, procedural review and audit of prequalification results and awards reports, tendering and announcements, awarding process, procedural review and audit of variation orders and extension and renewal of existing contracts' requests and documents," he told Kuwait Times. Preparing the agenda of the board of directors, organizing board of directors' meetings, issuing meeting minutes and following up the execution of the board of directors' decisions are also done by CAPT.

"The technical activities of CAPT General Secretariat include registration of general contractors, service providers, consultants and suppliers, classification of general contractors and consulting service providers, technical review and audit of prequalification and tender documents, technical review and audit of pre-qualification results and tender awards reports, review and technical audit of the documents of variation orders and extension and renewal of existing contracts," Duaij explained.

"CAPT General Secretariat's supportive services include administrative and financial affairs, complaints and legal studies, legal cases and investigations, development and training, statistics and research, development and support of information systems and operation and maintenance of information systems," he added.

Foreign general contractors and consulting firms have to follow the registration requirements and procedures at CAPT. "Required documents include an application for registration to be submitted electronically including the company name, address, telephone number, fax number, official email address and the authorized signatory's name and job title. The license of the company should be certified by the Embassy of Kuwait in the country of its headquarters, in accordance with the procedures specifying the nature of services provided. The authorized signatory should be approved in accordance with the procedures established by government agencies," Duaij outlined.

"All submitted documents should be approved and certified by the Embassy of Kuwait in the country of the company's headquarters or certified by the justice ministry of Kuwait and ministry of foreign affairs of Kuwait after being legally translated. All required documents should be uploaded as colored copies in Arabic and English in PDF format. All the submitted documents must be valid," Duaij said, detailing the registration procedure.

"Non-compliant applications submitted with incomplete documents will not be reviewed. After submitting all required documents, the payment link for the registration fees will be sent by email. The consulting service provider registration certificate will be sent by email after the application has been approved by the board of directors," he added.

Applicants should meet the following requirements to place a successful bid:

Pre-qualification documents includes:

1.0 Instructions for applicants.

2.0 Documents and forms:

2.1 Applicant's data

2.2 Applicant's activities

2.3 Nature of goods, products, work and services

2.4 Registration status at CAPT

2.5 Classification status at CAPT

3.0 Administrative, financial and technical data.

4.0 Requirements:

4.1 Previous work

4.2 Experiences

4.3 Equipment

4.4 Financial capabilities

5.0 Pre-qualification criteria:

5.1 Primary criteria points.

5.2 Secondary criteria points.

5.3 Measurability.

5.4 Passing rates.

5.5 Passing rates justification.

Tender documents and terms of reference includes:

1.0 Criteria for bid evaluation:

1.1 Objectivity.

1.2 Inclusion of primary and secondary evaluation points.

1.3 Measurable and quantifiable evaluation criteria.

1.4 Registration status at CAPT.

1.5 Classification status at CAPT.

2.0 Tender documents:

2.1 Instructions for bides

2.2 CAPT-issued standard contract

2.3 General conditions

2.4 Special conditions

2.5 Technical specifications and terms of reference

2.6 Work program

2.7 Schedule

2.8 Quantities

2.9 Prices

2.10 Templates

2.11 Bases for evaluation and criteria

Main Reasons for Rejection of bids:

1.0 Bid formula:

1.1 Bid formula not submitted.

1.2 The amount mentioned in numbers differs from what is mentioned in letters.

1.3 Submitting a signed unsealed bid formula.

1.4 Submitting a bid formula without stamp or signature.

1.5 Submitting a sealed bid formula without signing or vice versa.

1.6 Making an amendment to the amount, whether in letters or numbers without signing.

2.0 Bid bond:

2.1 Submitting an un-certified check from the bank.

2.2 Submitting a modified bid bond without attaching the original.

2.3 Providing bid bond addressed to the entity.

2.4 Submission of bid bond for a period of less than 90 days.

2.5 Submitting the bid bond amount less than what is required in the offering announcement.

3.0 Envelopes:

3.1 Submitting marked envelopes

3.2 Mentioning the company name on the submitted envelope.

Bid evaluation includes:

1.0 Verification:

1.1 Arithmetic errors not exceeding 5 percent

1.2 Arithmetic errors exceeding 5 percent

1.3 Abnormally low prices.

1.4 Exaggerated prices in plus or minus.

2.0 Eligibility:

2.1 Classification.

2.2 Pre-qualification.

2.3 Limited tenders.

3.0 Bid Guarantee:

3.1 Submitting of bid bond.

3.2 Validity of bid bond.