Bahrain Tender Board hosts tendering procedures seminar for Gulf Air

Manama: In line with ongoing efforts to streamline the tendering process, the Bahrain Tender Board held a seminar for Gulf Air, the Kingdom’s national carrier, aimed at improving the company’s understanding of tendering procedures. The event highlighted the legal framework behind the tendering process, and the tendering options available for Gulf Air to achieve its desired objectives. The event took place at the Tender Board headquarters at Bahrain Bay and was attended by 40 senior Gulf Air team members.

Delivering a keynote address, Tender Board Secretary General, Dr. Mohamed Bahzad said: “Bahrain is undergoing a remarkable period of transformation as it makes continued progress towards achieving its Vision 2030 objectives of economic sustainability and diversification. Our goal is to help ensure that the Kingdom is fully prepared to embrace the latest generation of smart procurement systems, commonly referred to as Procurement 4.0. Sessions such as this, which enable us to engage with purchasing authorities directly, play an important role in addressing concerns and identifying areas for improvement that will help us to make the right transition.”

He added: “The Tender Board remains committed to better serving purchasing authorities, suppliers, and vendors. Accordingly, we need to understand their needs and make sure they are fully aware of their rights, which will help them to utilize the tendering process more efficiently. This helps to preserve public resources while offering a level playing field for local and international suppliers and vendors.”

In line with a strategic objective to adopt international best practices and strengthen its role in government procurement, the Tender Board encourages vendor pre-qualification. The seminar communicated the benefits of the centralization of this process through a master list under the board’s control that will ensure consistency, fairness, and transparency.

Commenting on the session, Gulf Air Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Captain Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi said: “As the Kingdom’s national carrier, Gulf Air is tasked with an important responsibility, and always looks for new ways to enhance the contribution of the aviation sector to Bahrain’s economy. This event was incredibly useful and shed new light on the different types of tendering procedures, which will enable us to make better-informed procurement decisions.”

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For media inquiries contact:
Fatima Alhardan, +973 17566 611, fatima.alhardan@tenderboard.gov.bh

About the Tender Board:   
The Tender Board is a fully independent body, established by a Royal Decree on 7 January 2003, with a clear agenda to set up a strict regulatory mechanism that would ensure fairness and equal opportunity for all. And within such a short period of time, the Tender Board has achieved remarkable success, so much so that it now serves an international role model. A key achievement of the Tender Board has been the establishment of the highest standard of fairness in Government performance in terms of transparency and impartiality.

Through hard and constructive work, the Tender Board has extended bridges of cooperation between itself and public sector purchasing authorities on the one hand, and local and international contractors and suppliers, on the other hand. The Tender Board’s achievements over the past three years have earned it a reputation for transparency, integrity, fairness, competitiveness and equal opportunity. This has undoubtedly played a major role in boosting investors’ confidence in the nation’s economy, and enhancing the prestigious status of the Kingdom of Bahrain, both regionally and internationally.

© Press Release 2019