Standard documents for construction projects

Prepared by: Consulting Engineer

Lect.  Saadi Shartouh Al-Mohammadi

University of Anbar - College of Engineering - Department of Civil Engineering

For the purpose of raising the level of qualitative and specialized contracts, as is the case internationally, to achieve the principle of transparency and integrity, and for the need for Iraq to communicate with the international community. On March 2014 , the documenats were considered indicative, and the Ministry of Planning  applicated program on them in various government contracting and training, and prepared a group of trainers (TOT) for training on them. About (894) trainees from various government agencies and the private sector were trained at an average of (36) courses during the years. (2016,2015,2014), where the ministry attracted public and private sector observations about the standard documents to come up with a unified vision and align the documents with the legislation in force, and after making all the necessary amendments to the documents, the decision was made based on the powers granted to the ministry that the date of application of the standard documents is mandatory as of From 1/7/2016

The documents circulated according to the circular No. (9128/7/4 on 30/4/2017) are classified into (4) guiding guides and (18) working documents, including (6) specialized work documents (12) non-specialized.

According to the circulars of the Ministry of Planning Issue 4/7//4185 on 24/2/2016, and since the standard documents are mandatory for application, it must take into account their consistency with the Iraqi laws in force, including the instructions for implementing government contracts and the controls issued according to them, so some paragraphs in the conditions must be restricted and disabled The special data and the data sheet according to the circulars of the Ministry of Planning No. 18838 on 1/9/2016, such as submitting bids electronically, adjusting prices, the Dispute Resolution Council.

Among the most important new changes in the standard documents that I have found are:

1) The absence of weighting ratios for the purpose of selecting the best bid to refer the contract to (except for the consultancy services contracts document, which contains weighting ratios), the standard documents contain evaluation and qualification criteria, and in the absence of any criterion, the contractor (the company) is excluded, but if the companies meet all criteria So the companies are qualified and the lowest bids are selected from among the qualified

2) Adopting new general conditions (Fedik Red Book Conditions) instead of the contracting conditions for civil engineering works (General Contracting Conditions). One of the most important differences (for example) is that if the contractor does not submit a work progress schedule, he will be subject to a delay fine.

Standard documents are a safety valve for the executive and legislative bodies, a road map for all work joints, and a covenant document between all parties of government institutions and the private sector.

The Iraqi legislator laid the new legal system for public contracting on the foundations of international experiences and good practices. The environment of legislation affected its content, so the political, security, economic and urban conditions and all the developments were present and visible in the laws and regulations.

As a result of these factors, it seemed urgent to set new rules that guarantee transparency, openness and competition, be trusted towards citizens and abroad, and achieve the general purpose of contracting effectively, economically and effectively. Thus, the law has defined the following objectives:

Develop contracting procedures that provide clear and detailed guidance for each stage of the contracting process.

- Unifying contracting procedures with all implementing agencies.

- Determining the methods and methods of awarding the tenders used.

- Determining the responsible parties within the administration for all operations and activities.

- Encouraging efficiency and economy and achieving the equal value of the money spent.

- Encouraging transparency and accountability in the public contracting process.

- Follow-up activities and submit reports about them.

- Determining the authorities and powers of oversight and accountability.