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Insights on the Performance of Public Procurement for Water Utilities Works

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  • Mircea Liviu Negruț

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Management in Production and Transportation, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300191 Timisoara, Romania
    Research Center in Engineering and Management, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300191 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Adriana Muțiu

    (Research Center in Engineering and Management, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300191 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Ana-Andreea Mihărtescu

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Management in Production and Transportation, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300191 Timisoara, Romania
    Research Center in Engineering and Management, Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300191 Timisoara, Romania)

Abstract

The availability of non-reimbursable funds for water supply networks has made the public procurement of construction work in this sector of particular interest in terms of performance. The purpose of this research is to identify key issues and patterns emerging from the engagement between Romanian contracting entities awarding such construction contracts and economic operators. The engagement is materialized through rounds of clarification requests during the offer preparation stage. Following the analysis of the specialized literature, it was found that the subject was not addressed in many scientific publications. The research undertaken was an empirical analysis of selected tenders. The research methodology focuses on the qualitative analysis of publicly available questions and responses, complemented by the analysis of numerical data relating to the same tenders. From the study, it results that a high percentage of all questions analyzed target the technical requirements of the contract notice documents. In some instances, the same questions are found in multiple tenders. Tender evaluation periods are lengthy. The tenders are published with a similar strategic profile (e.g., open tendering, no division into lots) and participation is dominated by bidder associations of multiple economic operators. This study concludes that the quality of the technical requirements does not support the type of strategic profile employed by the contracting entities. The rigidity of written communication makes it unsuitable to mitigate the negative effects of a flawed approach in developing technical requirements for high value, high complexity projects directly connected with Romania’s public water supply challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Mircea Liviu Negruț & Adriana Muțiu & Ana-Andreea Mihărtescu, 2022. "Insights on the Performance of Public Procurement for Water Utilities Works," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-25, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:155-:d:1011414
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laura Montalbán-Domingo & Madeleine Aguilar-Morocho & Tatiana García-Segura & Eugenio Pellicer, 2020. "Study of Social and Environmental Needs for the Selection of Sustainable Criteria in the Procurement of Public Works," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Thomas Lennerfors, 2007. "The Transformation of Transparency – On the Act on Public Procurement and the Right to Appeal in the Context of the War on Corruption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(4), pages 381-390, July.
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