Skip to main content

Polish procurement practice problems publicised

A study reveals construction sector worries about public procurement practice in Poland. The study was commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development. Ulrich Paetzold, director general of FIEC, the European Construction Industry Federation commented that the study on how 'to implement intervention priorities as foreseen by the National Development Strategy 2020', “…confirms yet again some of the fundamental problems repeatedly stressed over several years by contractors and consulting
June 23, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A study reveals construction sector worries about public procurement practice in Poland. The study was commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development. Ulrich Paetzold, director general of FIEC, the 6164 European Construction Industry Federation commented that the study on how 'to implement intervention priorities as foreseen by the National Development Strategy 2020', “…confirms yet again some of the fundamental problems repeatedly stressed over several years by contractors and consulting engineers in relation to the practice of procurement processes and contract management of infrastructure contracts in Poland."

"This study is another wake-up call for the Polish government to finally counter the deteriorating business conditions in the Polish infrastructure market, as illustrated already in February 2014 by a comprehensive Ernst &Young analysis of the road infrastructure market in Poland," added Frank Kehlenbach, director of EIC, the European International Contractors.

The issues highlighted by the expert study include untimely materialisation of strategic plans, low quality of design documentation, award of contracts based on the lowest-price and incompetence of clients in supervising and cooperating with the designers. They also include inappropriate risk distribution between the client and the contractor (assigning risks to contractors that are beyond their influence) and frequent changes in legislation due to systemic or operational deficiencies.

FIEC and EIC, together with their Polish partners, PZPB and ZPBUI are appealing again to the Polish government to take the necessary steps in order to remedy the shortcomings and counterproductive practices shown in several independent expert studies, in particular, to stop the current policy of shifting typical client's risks, to the construction industry.

The Polish construction sector looks forward to intensifying its collaboration with the current and future Minister for Transport and Development, in order to find both quick solutions for current problems and ways to improve the efficiency of infrastructure project management in the long-term.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A vision of roads
    September 3, 2012
    By 2040 European roads could be built differently, and hopefully be safer, according to the EU research programme NR2C
  • Royal Haskoning DHV’s Saudi bottleneck busting contract
    August 13, 2012
    Royal Haskoning DHV has been selected to tackle 30 major traffic bottlenecks in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh over the next two years. ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA) decided to award the US$1.87million (€1.5mn) contract to the Dutch project management, engineering and consultancy service provider following a call for tenders. The population of Riyadh has risen dramatically over the past few decades and currently stands at around 5.4 million and, as a result, the city's roads and motorways are reach
  • Successful pavement maintenance
    February 16, 2012
    This is the final section of a three-part series about preventive maintenance for pavements. Written by Alan S. Kercher, P.E., Kercher Engineering, Inc
  • Successful pavement maintenance
    April 12, 2012
    This is the final section of a three-part series about preventive maintenance for pavements. Written by Alan S. Kercher, P.E., Kercher Engineering, Inc We practice preventive maintenance in our everyday lives and possibly with agency equipment such as dump trucks and backhoes, but when it comes to maintaining our roadways, most agencies will always defer repairs until the pavements have failed, resulting in very expensive repairs. This article will provide some guidance to help an agency make the switch fr