$3.4 billion at stake: Rada passed a law without which Ukraine risked losing funding

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and in full the bill №11520 on public procurement. It was supported by 245 members of parliament, with no votes “against”. The document is part of Ukraine’s commitments to the European Union and the World Bank and is intended to help unlock access to financing under the DPO program for $3.4 billion.

The official bill page on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine website indicates that the public procurement bill №11520 was registered on 23 August 2024, and its initiator was the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The primary committee was designated as the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Economic Development.

The adopted law is set to comprehensively renew the public procurement system taking into account European standards. Previously the relevant committee explained that the document expands the tools for running tenders and should reduce the risk of abuse. In particular, in addition to open tenders, the bill provides for restricted tenders, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership, framework agreements, a dynamic purchasing system, and joint procurement.

One important change is the ability to split large procurements into lots. This should open the way for participation in large tenders not only by big companies but also by regional businesses, which often cannot enter a procurement due to the excessive size of a single contract. Among the key provisions is also the mandatory use of electronic catalogs for goods procurements in the range from 50 to 400 thousand hryvnias. For works costing up to 1.5 million hryvnias, the use of the electronic system, according to NV citing Interfax-Ukraine, will remain optional.

The new law also provides for reserved contracts that should help involve enterprises of veterans and people with disabilities in state and municipal procurements. Dynamic purchasing systems and innovation partnership procedures are also introduced separately.

For Mykolaiv and the Mykolaiv region, such changes may have practical significance, since after Russian shelling and amid reconstruction the region constantly runs procurements for repairing infrastructure, schools, hospitals, water supply, transport and energy. In such conditions, tender transparency becomes a matter not only of saving money but also of people’s trust in authorities.

Reminder, earlier we wrote:

• Ukraine abolished mandatory certificates of completed works
• Didn’t serve — goodbye! Now not all men will be able to become civil servants in Ukraine
• Buses set free: the Verkhovna Rada “unfroze” humanitarian transport
• The Zhovtnevyi and Leninsky courts will remain in the past
• Mykolaiv conducted a record street lighting procurement in Ukraine with an overpayment