16 September 2008
MUSCAT -- The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Tender Board, signed a RO2,129,123 deal with Imtac and C-1 India on the Tender Board premises here yesterday. The project, first of its kind in the Middle East, will automate the board's entire tendering structure, thus becoming the largest Electronic Tendering System (ETS) in the region.
The system is expected to improve transparency and fairness in the tendering processes.
The contract was signed from the government side by Khamis bin Mubarak Al Alawi, minister of transport and communications and the chairman of the Tender Board, in the presence of Mohammed bin Nasser Al Khusaibi, secretary-general of the Ministry of National Economy and chairman of ITA, and Fareed Al Hinai, vice-chairman of Imtac, and Vivek Agarwal, CEO of C-1 India.
The new system will allow the availability of the bids online that will be open to all on the Tender Board website. The bidders can track their bids and monitor the entire process of tender online. The new system will interface with other government system to ensure transfer of required data for e-tendering to eliminate the hardcopy documentation.
Commenting on the project, Khamis said: "The project will add to the periodic enhancement of the tendering processes and it utilises IT to ensure enhanced efficiency in implementing government projects."
Syed Mahmood bin Hilal bin Sood, undersecretary of the Tender Board Sheikh Al Fadhel bin Mohammed Al Harthi, vice-chairman of Information Technology Authority (ITA), and others were also present on the occasion. "The e-tendering will enable all local and international vendors to use the online system and do the entire process online," said Mohammed Al Dhuhli, project manager at ITA.
The first phase, which would be completed in nine months, would automate all the tendering processes of the Tender Board and five government entities. The other 50 entities would join the ETS in the second phase, he added.
The selected ETS can be used all by government entities whether they are following the Tender Board laws and regulations or not. The selected system can be customised to include any number of entities, Mohammed Al Dhuhli said.
Commenting on the project, Mahmood bin Hilal bin Sood said besides automating all the manual process, it involved "training the Tender Board staff and IT professionals to ensure effective use, management and monitoring of the e-tendering system".
"E-tendering is considered as one of the projects that ITA is providing consultancy on, as part of the governance advisory division objectives set by the ITA," Mohammed bin Nasser Al Khusaibi said.
Expressing pleasure over the award of contract to the consortium of Imtac and C1 India, Fareed Al Hinai said: "It will also encourage the local upcoming entrepreneurs to participate with equal opportunities."
Vivek Agarwal said: "This project will become the reference point and a role model for all such initiatives in the region."
MUSCAT -- The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Tender Board, signed a RO2,129,123 deal with Imtac and C-1 India on the Tender Board premises here yesterday. The project, first of its kind in the Middle East, will automate the board's entire tendering structure, thus becoming the largest Electronic Tendering System (ETS) in the region.
The system is expected to improve transparency and fairness in the tendering processes.
The contract was signed from the government side by Khamis bin Mubarak Al Alawi, minister of transport and communications and the chairman of the Tender Board, in the presence of Mohammed bin Nasser Al Khusaibi, secretary-general of the Ministry of National Economy and chairman of ITA, and Fareed Al Hinai, vice-chairman of Imtac, and Vivek Agarwal, CEO of C-1 India.
The new system will allow the availability of the bids online that will be open to all on the Tender Board website. The bidders can track their bids and monitor the entire process of tender online. The new system will interface with other government system to ensure transfer of required data for e-tendering to eliminate the hardcopy documentation.
Commenting on the project, Khamis said: "The project will add to the periodic enhancement of the tendering processes and it utilises IT to ensure enhanced efficiency in implementing government projects."
Syed Mahmood bin Hilal bin Sood, undersecretary of the Tender Board Sheikh Al Fadhel bin Mohammed Al Harthi, vice-chairman of Information Technology Authority (ITA), and others were also present on the occasion. "The e-tendering will enable all local and international vendors to use the online system and do the entire process online," said Mohammed Al Dhuhli, project manager at ITA.
The first phase, which would be completed in nine months, would automate all the tendering processes of the Tender Board and five government entities. The other 50 entities would join the ETS in the second phase, he added.
The selected ETS can be used all by government entities whether they are following the Tender Board laws and regulations or not. The selected system can be customised to include any number of entities, Mohammed Al Dhuhli said.
Commenting on the project, Mahmood bin Hilal bin Sood said besides automating all the manual process, it involved "training the Tender Board staff and IT professionals to ensure effective use, management and monitoring of the e-tendering system".
"E-tendering is considered as one of the projects that ITA is providing consultancy on, as part of the governance advisory division objectives set by the ITA," Mohammed bin Nasser Al Khusaibi said.
Expressing pleasure over the award of contract to the consortium of Imtac and C1 India, Fareed Al Hinai said: "It will also encourage the local upcoming entrepreneurs to participate with equal opportunities."
Vivek Agarwal said: "This project will become the reference point and a role model for all such initiatives in the region."
By Moazzam Hashmi
© Times of Oman 2008
