1. The four stages
They follow one another, and only one is fixed by law. The rest depend on the authority's own work.
| Stage | Content | Whose control | Fixed by law |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Preparation | technical specification, procurement documents, estimated value, choice of procedure | authority | no |
| 2. Tender submission deadline | 15 or 25 days for construction works | the law | yes, as a minimum |
| 3. Examination and evaluation | depends on number and complexity of tenders | authority | no |
| 4. Standstill and contract award | includes any challenge period | tenderer initiates | partly |
The first stage is usually the longest in construction procurement, because drafting a technical specification presupposes a design. It is precisely this stage that no average duration figure captures, because it takes place before the procedure begins.
2. What average figures say and do not say
Institutional estimates give an order of magnitude. Actual duration depends on the procurement.
| Indicator | Before the reform | After the reform |
|---|---|---|
| Average duration of procurement procedures | around 87 days | around 50 days |
The figure needs three qualifications before it can be used. Otherwise the timetable is unrealistic.
It is an estimate of the effect of the changes, not a promise. Every procurement runs at its own pace.
The average covers all types of procurement, including simpler supplies and services procurements, which are considerably faster than construction. Construction sits above that average.
Construction procurement usually runs longer than the average, because deadlines are longer and evaluation more complex. Measuring quantities takes time.
The practical conclusion is clear: the average cannot be used to plan a specific construction procurement. It is a statistical indicator for assessing policy effect, not a planning tool.
3. What lengthens duration
Four factors, three of which are within the authority's own control. The fourth depends on the tenderers.
An inadequate technical specification, which generates questions and amendments to the procurement documents.
Amending the procurement documents during the procedure, which may require the deadline to be extended. Each amendment costs days.
A large number of tenders, which lengthens evaluation. That is a good problem, but a cost in time nonetheless.
A challenge, the only factor outside the authority's control, but whose probability the authority influences.
The fourth factor is tied to the first: an unclear specification and unreasoned decisions raise the risk of challenge. Preventing a challenge therefore begins with preparation, not with reasoning the decision. By the time a decision is being reasoned, the material to reason it with either exists or does not.
4. How to present a timetable
Three rules protect the authority. Give a range with its assumptions, not a date.
Name which stages are outside the authority's control.
Allow a margin for the possibility of challenge where the procurement is large or sensitive. A challenge suspends the schedule.
The first rule is the same one that applies in building permit procedures, covered in a separate guide. The reason is identical: promising a fixed date in an administrative procedure is a promise whose fulfilment does not rest with the promisor alone. A range with assumptions is more precise information than a date without them, even if it feels less definite.
5. What the September changes do to the timetable
Two effects in opposite directions, whose net result depends on the procurement. One shortens, the other lengthens.
The number of heavier procedures falls, because more procurements sit in a simpler procedure. That shortens the average duration.
The construction tender deadline in the simplified procedure extends by ten days.
| Where the procurement starts from | Net effect on duration |
|---|---|
| Moves from a heavier procedure into the simplified one | shortens, despite the longer tender deadline |
| Was already in the simplified procedure | lengthens by ten days |
The overall effect therefore depends on which procedure the procurement moves from, and must be assessed procurement by procurement rather than in general. The calculation must be made case by case.
In summary, and four practical rules
A procurement timetable consists of four stages, only one of which is fixed by law and the longest of which, preparation, is excluded from every average duration figure. Duration is lengthened by an inadequate technical specification, amendments to the procurement documents, a large number of tenders and a challenge, the first three being within the authority's control and the fourth's probability influenced by it.
Four rules: start the timetable with preparation, not with publication of the notice. Do not use average procedure duration to plan a construction procurement. Invest in the technical specification, which is the main variable in duration. Give a range with its assumptions, not a date.
This article serves professional orientation at the date of checking. It does not replace the Public Procurement Act or information published by the Ministry of Finance.