The National Association of Independent Builders asserts that administrations can already update their tender budgets and review prices without waiting for the European public procurement regulation.
According to La Razón, the president of the National Association of Independent Builders (ANCI), Concha Santos, believes that Spanish public buyers can improve public works contracting without waiting for the new community regulations. Her message stems from the draft regulation that the European Commission presented a month ago.
The European text proposes that contracts be awarded based on the "best value for money" rather than the "most economically advantageous offer," with a minimum weight for quality criteria. Additionally, it strengthens the control of abnormally low bids and regulates adjustment clauses during execution, such as indexing.
"If we want quality, we cannot ignore how much it costs to produce it."
Santos warns that when price weighs too heavily, competition becomes a race to the bottom that affects safety, deadlines, and the durability of works. It also impacts companies, which, with insufficient margins, cannot renew machinery, train staff, or invest in technology.
ANCI points out three measures that, in its view, can already be applied. The first is to update the tender budget with market prices, including indirect costs and overheads, whose percentages were set in 1968 and 1987. The second is to review prices during execution, something that, according to the association, also encourages competition in the awarding phase. The third is to design proportionate and transparent selection and awarding criteria, as excessive requirements block the way for equally capable companies.
For the association, the European regulation will take time to arrive, and contracting authorities can already implement these measures in their upcoming tenders.
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