Bratislava City Hall is going to use an innovative way of selecting their suppliers. Over the next four years economic operators providing services for winter and summer road maintenance and the upkeep of urban green areas will be awarded more than €40 million. The value of this contract has created a great buzz. This is the largest DPS ever announced in Slovakia, so it’s no wonder that councillors are stressing transparency, economic benefits and effectiveness throughout the process, and the very nature of a DPS will certainly satisfy these criteria.
The first indisputable advantage is a reduction in the administrative burden associated with the submission of qualification documents and checking them. In practice, the little used DPS process reveals further benefits. The ability for further suppliers to qualify for newly announced calls for tender throughout a DPS certainly contributes to heightening the competitive environment for bidders and thus the transparency and economic benefit of the entire process.
The category of contract within the DPS is defined by the first three digits of the CPV code, and detailed specifications are then stipulated in each call for tender. Therefore the Public Procurement Department does not have to consider and specify all the terms and conditions of the contract in advance as is the case with framework contracts; but on the contrary, there can be a flexible response to current needs and ongoing circumstances, which again significantly reduces the potential for errors on the part of the Municipality.
