One of the key starting points for the pending reform of the Procurement Act is to promote careful preparation of procurement. The importance of careful preparation of public procurement cannot be overemphasized. Preparation, and especially market mapping as part of it, is the foundation of a successful construction project.
The government's proposal to reform the Procurement Act is intended to be submitted to Parliament in the autumn session of 2025, and the law is intended to enter into force at the beginning of 2026.
The Procurement Act is intended to make it mandatory to conduct a market survey in procurements over 10 million euros. The limit is artificial, and I believe that market survey should be a mandatory part of all procurement processes under the Procurement Act without a euro limit. Since the content of market dialogue and market survey is not regulated in more detail in the law, it is not unreasonable to require that each procurement unit conducts the market survey that is most suitable for each procurement.
Careful preparation of the procurement means that market operators are genuinely consulted when preparing the procurement and drafting the key requirements and conditions of the tender documents.
The market survey should examine, among other things, the resourcing and expertise required from the parties involved in a construction project, proportionate reference requirements, a reasonable implementation method and form of the project, appropriate risk sharing and contract terms, and other key issues important for the success of the tender and the implementation of the project.
Unnecessary obstacles to participation in tenders must be removed
A good starting point for competition is that the market survey identifies and removes unnecessary obstacles to participating in and bidding on the tender. Obstacles can include strict reference requirements, implementation methods that are not suitable for the market, and unreasonable contract terms and requirements.
Suitability requirements must be in proportion to the size and complexity of the project. It is also worth considering the contract sizes and contents as appropriate as possible. At the same time, the client must understand their own role in creating the market. For example, when there are different types and sizes of projects on the market, there is something to offer to companies of all sizes.
Unnecessarily strict reference requirements can lead to the fact that there may not be any operators in the market who meet the requirements. The purchasing unit should therefore pay attention to both the content of the reference requirement and the duration of the reference. In particular, objects that are eligible for reference for too short a period have been seen as a problem and a factor that limits competition.
The law proposes adding a right of appeal, i.e. the possibility of appealing against a decision on the allocation of procurements. As an amendment to encourage careful preparation of the procurement, an obligation is proposed in certain situations to re-organise the tender if only one offer has been received in the tender. However, if a market survey has been carried out before the tender, there is no need to re-organise the tender in a situation where only one offer has been received.
The administrative burden on the tenderer will also be eased by the fact that, according to the proposal, in the future, instead of criminal record extracts, a declaration signed by the persons in question stating that they have not committed any of the crimes mentioned in the Procurement Act can be submitted.
It should be noted that careful preparation of a procurement does not end with a market survey. However, if the survey has resulted in ill-considered solutions, correcting them later can be difficult and expensive. The success of a public procurement is a shared concern and serves the interests of both the buyer and the seller.
See also
Risto Aunio
Responsible lawyer
risto.aunio@rt.fi + 358 40 743 1890Building Construction Industry Association
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