Procurement and the IDB
Public procurement is more than an academic interest at the IDB. The Bank itself disbursed almost $9 billion in loans and grants for projects in its borrowing member countries last year, and much of that was used to pay for goods or services.To ensure that none of the money ends up in the wrong hands, the IDB applies a rigorous set of procurement regulations to any projects it finances. For example, the rules require international competitive bidding for civil works contracts worth more than $5 million and for goods worth more than $350,000 for any projects jointly or exclusively financed by the Bank. Project executing agencies in borrowing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean must abide by the IDB's procurement regulations in advertising contract opportunities, preparing bid documents, evaluating bids and awarding contracts. IDB staff review all procedures, decisions and contract awards.
The Bank also offers a compendium of its procurement rules in the recently published Procurement of Goods and User's Guide, which is widely used as a reference by executing agencies managing IDB-financed projects.
ìThe importance of clear, unambiguous and transparent procurement policies and procedures such as those described in this compendium and used by the IDB cannot be overemphasized,î says Jorge Claro de la Maza, recently retired chief of the IDB's Procurement Policy and Coordination Office. "It is only under such procedures that large numbers of vendors, contractors and suppliers participate, thus fostering competition and better prices."
Claro says the compendium described above is useful for projects financed by other multilateral institutions as well, because many of these institutions have harmonized their procurement procedures in recent years.
New English and Spanish versions of the Standard Bidding Documents can be ordered from the IDB bookstore at IDB-books@iadb.org. They are also available online in the Procurement Section of the Business Opportunities button on the Bankís home page (www.iadb.org).