Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: The Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) will launch its e-Tendering System hosted on Tier 3 of the Joint Supplier Registration System (JSRS) to all SMEs; the system is deemed the Sultanate's prominent online supplier certification and e-procurement platform in the oil and gas field and is run through the international gateway.
This procedure comes as part of Sezad's efforts to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) obtain a reasonable percentage of the bids proposed by the companies operating in Sezad.
The legislations enacted by Sezad stipulate upon a condition that the state-owned bodies and companies and the government projects operating inside the Special Economic Zone Duqm (SEZD) area to allocate a percentage not less than 10 per cent of the total procurement and tenders in favour of the SMEs.
Also, the tender documents of big projects to be offered by Sezad and the state fully owned company should include a stipulation that deems the implementing company obligated to allocate a percentage not less than 10 per cent of the tender value in favour of SMEs whose registered offices are located in Al-wusta governorate.
Offering equal opportunities
Through the new Sezad e-Tendering System hosted on Tier 3 of JSRS, Sezad's contractors can now identify SMEs registered and certified by Sezad and publish tenders directly to the selected companies who fulfil specific procurement criteria of the particular contract.
This ensures an equal opportunity to all eligible Sezad-certified SME companies, and the Sezad e-Tendering System helps Sezad monitor its SME obligations imposed on the main contractors for the benefit of Oman's SMEs.
Most importantly, this system offers credible SME supplier data to Sezad's main contractors during their search for eligible Omani SME companies. This system also ensures transparency and fair distribution of Sezad's opportunities scope within SEZD-certified SME companies.
e-Registration and certification
Sezad has already launched its e-Tendering System on Tier 3 of JSRS. The Sezad e-Certification System on JSRS is a single window registration and certification process to stay informed of all relevant business opportunities. SME companies interested to work in Sezad need to register themselves on the JSRS and progress to JSRS certification for them to be qualified to commit to the opportunities of works proposed by the main companies operating in SEZD.
The formalities and procedures by Sezad deem it necessary for SMEs to have themselves registered on the JSRs to be eligible for work opportunities offered by Sezad. SMEs willing to register themselves with Sezad will be eligible for 50 per cent off on the services rendered by Sezad.
Organisation of a workshop
Further, at a workshop it lately organised, Sezad has made it mandatory for the main contractors to use the JSRS e-Tendering System for awarding their SME obligation-based contracts.
Sezad has announced the SMEs' e-Certification Criteria and it has encouraged SMEs to make use of the Sezad e-Certification process, in order to be eligible to receive business opportunities from the investors and main contractors operating in Sezad.
During the workshop organised by Sezad in collaboration with the International Business Gateway, the companies operating in Duqm, main contractors and SMEs were all updated on the new e-Certification System, its objectives and the services rendered thereby to the contractors on the one hand and the SMEs on the other hand.
