Most purchase enquiries from Ministries and oil companies are issue as invitations to tender. Majority of Ministerial tenders will be issued through the ‘Central Tenders Committee' (CTC) the remainder will be issued directly by the tender office of the concerned Ministry. The reverse is the case with oil sector tenders with the greater part being issued directly by their tender offices.
Tenders are awarded on price basis once technical fulfillment is established.
Whoever can Participate
This depends on whether it is an 'open' or ‘limited’ tender. Any correctly registered local company can take part in an open tender, so can any foreign company which has a appropriately registered local agent. Participation in limited tenders is restricted to suitably pre-qualified companies who are registered with the issuing body.
Pre-Qualification
If you propose to do any business with the oil companies you must be pre-qualified. Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) each have a set of pre-qualification documents which have to be completed. In addition to details of your products and services they will also require information on past and current projects plus financial information. Make sure you put in all products and services that you provide, no matter how obvious or irrelevant they may look. Government Ministries will issue invitations to pre-qualify for certain projects, but in any case your agent should submit your details to all relevant departments. Pre-qualification forms can only be submitted with a valid agency agreement and even though a pre-qualified company has been invited to tender, the tender documents can only be collected on production of a valid agency agreement.
Tender Announcement
Most Government and some oil sector tenders are announced in the Official Gazette, published weekly in Arabic. Official English language translation of the Gazette, known as the 'Al Yawm' is available on every Sunday. The annual subscription is KD60/-. Large tenders are often also announced in the local newspapers.
Invitations to tender are also issued directly to the possible suppliers without any published announcements. This is frequently the case with oil sector requirements, therefore it is very important to ensure that you are properly registered and pre-qualified.
Collection of Tender Documents
The issuing body and the purchase price of the tender documents will be given in the tender announcements. To collect the documents the following will be required.
a. A covering letter in Arabic language
b. The registration documentation from the issuing body (this takes the form of a card with CTC)
c. The purchase price of the tender documents, in cash
Pre-tender Meetings
Participants are often invited to pre-tender meetings. These are worth attending and are often mandatory, if you don't attend, your bid will not be accepted. They provide a good opportunity to have points clarified, site visits and think about the opposition. However, if the meeting is to take place in an area which requires a security pass, make sure the pass is obtained in good time.
Do's & Dont's
Do take a working copy of the tender document and keep the originals in a safe place.
Do take care to keep the original receipt of purchase. It is best to keep this with the original documents as it must be submitted with the bid.
Do not make any marks on the original tender documents other than those required for tender submission otherwise the bid will be liable for refusal.
Do obtain a proper translation of all Arabic text, particularly the terms and conditions. The Arabic version of these invariably contains more details than the English, and in case of argument the Arabic text will always take priority.
Do check all the weekly editions of the Al Yawm to see if any amendments to the tender have been published or if a pre-tender meeting has been called.
Terms & Conditions
Ensure that you have a proper translation of the Arabic text and that you fully understand all the terms and conditions. These are not negotiable. It is not suitable to submit your own conditions with the covering letter. If you have signed the tender documents you are dedicated to the terms and conditions and your bid bond will be forfeited if you pull out your offer after the tender is awarded.
Bonds
When submitting your tender you must provide a bid bond, this guarantees your offer to the issuing body and is forfeited if you withdraw your offer during the period of validity of the bond. Bonds have to be issued by a local Kuwaiti bank in Arabic and English and the banks are familiar with their design. Bonds are absolute and have to be exactly in agreed format.
If you are successful in your tender and are awarded the contract you will have to open a performance bond. Again the bond is unconditional and has a prescribed format. The performance bond guarantees your performance against the contract terms and can be forfeited if you fail to perform against the contract.
The value of bid and performance bonds is given in the tender announcements. Bid bonds are usually opened for a period of three months while the tenders are being studied. In practice they perpetually have to be extended for much longer periods. Bid bonds of unsuccessful tenders are returned when the successful tenderer signs the contract and submits a performance bond. No interest is paid on either bid or performance bonds.
After the completion of work, performance bonds may have to be valid for a fixed period. This is to cover things such as warranty and maintenance contracts.
Submitting your Tender
Always, make sure you know where to take the completed tender. Only submit the tender on the date it is due - if it goes in early it runs the risk of getting lost. Also, be sure that it is submitted before 1300 hrs on the due date; arrivals even seconds later than announced time will be rejected.
Go through a check list of all items to be completed and delivered. These will include:
A list of bidders and their bid prices can be obtained by participants of CTC tenders upon production of a copy of the receipt of purchase of the original tender documents. This list, written in Arabic is available 7-10 days after the tender close date.
Obtaining the results of tenders through other issuing bodies is not so straight forward. KOC and KNPC occasionally publicize details but no issuing body apart, from the CTC, has an official system. The Ministries of Defence and Interior have a policy of not publishing the results of their tenderers.
The bids will be examined for technical and commercial companies with tender documents. Bidders should be prepared to answer any questions that may arise. These may take the format of a written questionnaire, which will require formal written answer, or bidders may even be called in for a meeting to discuss and explain their offer. Once the tender has been submitted, bidders are not allowable to amend their bid in any way, either by changing the price or the technical condition except called upon to do so by the issuing party.
Towards the end of the period of validity of the bond, issuing party may well issue a request for the bond period to be extended - usually a period of 30 days if they are not in a position to decide to whom the tender should be awarded . It is not unusual for several such amendments to be made.
Once the decision to whom to award the tender is made, the successful bidder is invited to sign a contract with the issuing party. The Contract is written in Arabic and English. It is very significant to obtain a copy of the Contract prior to signature and make sure you are fully aware of the contents of both Arabic and English text.
Companies are not formally informed that their bids are unsuccessful, so make sure that you keep up to date with the situation so that your bid bond is released as early as possible.
Costs
Local labor is easily obtained on a relaxed basis - as long as the skill necessities are not too high and there are many civil, mechanical and technical contractors. However, bear in mind the cost of bonds and the effects that contractual payment terms will have. It is not unusual for many months to pass between the close date of tender and the contract award. During this period you have a bid bond guaranteeing your offer including prices. Make sure your suppliers and sub-contractors keep their offers firm.
The currency in which the bid is to be submitted will be stipulated in the tender documents - this will usually be Kuwaiti Dinars. The price quoted will be the amount paid to the contractor, irrespective of exchange rate fluctuations.
Tenders are awarded on price basis once technical fulfillment is established.
Whoever can Participate
This depends on whether it is an 'open' or ‘limited’ tender. Any correctly registered local company can take part in an open tender, so can any foreign company which has a appropriately registered local agent. Participation in limited tenders is restricted to suitably pre-qualified companies who are registered with the issuing body.
Pre-Qualification
If you propose to do any business with the oil companies you must be pre-qualified. Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) each have a set of pre-qualification documents which have to be completed. In addition to details of your products and services they will also require information on past and current projects plus financial information. Make sure you put in all products and services that you provide, no matter how obvious or irrelevant they may look. Government Ministries will issue invitations to pre-qualify for certain projects, but in any case your agent should submit your details to all relevant departments. Pre-qualification forms can only be submitted with a valid agency agreement and even though a pre-qualified company has been invited to tender, the tender documents can only be collected on production of a valid agency agreement.
Tender Announcement
Most Government and some oil sector tenders are announced in the Official Gazette, published weekly in Arabic. Official English language translation of the Gazette, known as the 'Al Yawm' is available on every Sunday. The annual subscription is KD60/-. Large tenders are often also announced in the local newspapers.
Invitations to tender are also issued directly to the possible suppliers without any published announcements. This is frequently the case with oil sector requirements, therefore it is very important to ensure that you are properly registered and pre-qualified.
Collection of Tender Documents
The issuing body and the purchase price of the tender documents will be given in the tender announcements. To collect the documents the following will be required.
a. A covering letter in Arabic language
b. The registration documentation from the issuing body (this takes the form of a card with CTC)
c. The purchase price of the tender documents, in cash
Pre-tender Meetings
Participants are often invited to pre-tender meetings. These are worth attending and are often mandatory, if you don't attend, your bid will not be accepted. They provide a good opportunity to have points clarified, site visits and think about the opposition. However, if the meeting is to take place in an area which requires a security pass, make sure the pass is obtained in good time.
Do's & Dont's
Do take a working copy of the tender document and keep the originals in a safe place.
Do take care to keep the original receipt of purchase. It is best to keep this with the original documents as it must be submitted with the bid.
Do not make any marks on the original tender documents other than those required for tender submission otherwise the bid will be liable for refusal.
Do obtain a proper translation of all Arabic text, particularly the terms and conditions. The Arabic version of these invariably contains more details than the English, and in case of argument the Arabic text will always take priority.
Do check all the weekly editions of the Al Yawm to see if any amendments to the tender have been published or if a pre-tender meeting has been called.
Terms & Conditions
Ensure that you have a proper translation of the Arabic text and that you fully understand all the terms and conditions. These are not negotiable. It is not suitable to submit your own conditions with the covering letter. If you have signed the tender documents you are dedicated to the terms and conditions and your bid bond will be forfeited if you pull out your offer after the tender is awarded.
Bonds
When submitting your tender you must provide a bid bond, this guarantees your offer to the issuing body and is forfeited if you withdraw your offer during the period of validity of the bond. Bonds have to be issued by a local Kuwaiti bank in Arabic and English and the banks are familiar with their design. Bonds are absolute and have to be exactly in agreed format.
If you are successful in your tender and are awarded the contract you will have to open a performance bond. Again the bond is unconditional and has a prescribed format. The performance bond guarantees your performance against the contract terms and can be forfeited if you fail to perform against the contract.
The value of bid and performance bonds is given in the tender announcements. Bid bonds are usually opened for a period of three months while the tenders are being studied. In practice they perpetually have to be extended for much longer periods. Bid bonds of unsuccessful tenders are returned when the successful tenderer signs the contract and submits a performance bond. No interest is paid on either bid or performance bonds.
After the completion of work, performance bonds may have to be valid for a fixed period. This is to cover things such as warranty and maintenance contracts.
Submitting your Tender
Always, make sure you know where to take the completed tender. Only submit the tender on the date it is due - if it goes in early it runs the risk of getting lost. Also, be sure that it is submitted before 1300 hrs on the due date; arrivals even seconds later than announced time will be rejected.
Go through a check list of all items to be completed and delivered. These will include:
· Original tender documents accordingly completed in full, signed and stamped with the company seal. If extra copies of the tender are submitted, they too have to be treated in same way as the original. If your company is submitting the tender directly rather than through your agent both yours and agent's company stamp must appear on every page of every document. Likewise all pages where a full signature is not required must be initialed and stamped.
· If an envelope was included with the tender documents your tender submission must go into it (regrettably, sometimes the envelopes provided are too small).
· All amendments to the tender that may have been issued prior to the closing date are considered part of the tender and must be treated as tender documents.
· The original receipt of purchase of the tender documents (this is often included in the envelope).
· The power of attorney(s) for the signatory(ies) on the tender documents, notarized and attested.
· A copy of your agency agreement - fully notarized and attested. See Representation and Registration.
· Boycott Certificate.
After SubmissionA list of bidders and their bid prices can be obtained by participants of CTC tenders upon production of a copy of the receipt of purchase of the original tender documents. This list, written in Arabic is available 7-10 days after the tender close date.
Obtaining the results of tenders through other issuing bodies is not so straight forward. KOC and KNPC occasionally publicize details but no issuing body apart, from the CTC, has an official system. The Ministries of Defence and Interior have a policy of not publishing the results of their tenderers.
The bids will be examined for technical and commercial companies with tender documents. Bidders should be prepared to answer any questions that may arise. These may take the format of a written questionnaire, which will require formal written answer, or bidders may even be called in for a meeting to discuss and explain their offer. Once the tender has been submitted, bidders are not allowable to amend their bid in any way, either by changing the price or the technical condition except called upon to do so by the issuing party.
Towards the end of the period of validity of the bond, issuing party may well issue a request for the bond period to be extended - usually a period of 30 days if they are not in a position to decide to whom the tender should be awarded . It is not unusual for several such amendments to be made.
Once the decision to whom to award the tender is made, the successful bidder is invited to sign a contract with the issuing party. The Contract is written in Arabic and English. It is very significant to obtain a copy of the Contract prior to signature and make sure you are fully aware of the contents of both Arabic and English text.
Companies are not formally informed that their bids are unsuccessful, so make sure that you keep up to date with the situation so that your bid bond is released as early as possible.
Costs
Local labor is easily obtained on a relaxed basis - as long as the skill necessities are not too high and there are many civil, mechanical and technical contractors. However, bear in mind the cost of bonds and the effects that contractual payment terms will have. It is not unusual for many months to pass between the close date of tender and the contract award. During this period you have a bid bond guaranteeing your offer including prices. Make sure your suppliers and sub-contractors keep their offers firm.
The currency in which the bid is to be submitted will be stipulated in the tender documents - this will usually be Kuwaiti Dinars. The price quoted will be the amount paid to the contractor, irrespective of exchange rate fluctuations.
