Divided into construction contractors, building works, mechanical works and electrical works

KUWAIT: Kuwait Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) issued two new resolutions on the classification rules of general contractors and consultancy services, CAPT Secretary-General Shoaa Akbar announced yesterday. Akbar said in an interview that the first resolution was devoted to the rules and procedures of classification criteria for consultancy services, while the other was allocated to the rules, procedures and criteria for the classification of public contractors. She added that Law No 49 of 2016 on public tenders was issued to classify companies whether public companies or consulting firms, stating that the new resolutions defined the criteria for this classification.

Contractors were categorized financially, while CAPT set the rules for technical criteria for contractors' classification, she said. She pointed out that the rules of the new criteria included the contractor's experience, years of work and all technical requirements. The contractors are divided into four segments according to the main specialties: construction contractors, building works, mechanical works and electrical works.
The first category includes major projects' contractors, and the second includes contractors of technical and financial capacity who may participate in tenders with a value not less than KD 5 million (about $16.5 million) and not more than KD 100 million (about $330 million dollar). The third category includes contractors who are allowed to participate in tenders with a value not less than KD 1 million (about $3. 3 million) and not more than KD 10 million (about $33 million), she said, adding that the fourth category includes local contractors who are allowed to participate in tenders with a value not exceeding KD 2 million (about $6.6 million).

Akbar said that these classifications are reviewed periodically, and the certificate of classification of contractors for general contracting is valid for a period not exceeding three years, adding that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are in the fourth category. In the new resolution, the consultants were divided into four segments: architecture and engineering, project management, administrative and financial, and specialization, she said. As for foreign contractors, Akbar noted that Law No 49 specified mechanisms for entering the local market while being classified according to the standards set for local companies, adding that the same applies to consultancy services. - KUNA