Procurement Guidelines under loans extended by the OPEC Fund

4. Other forms of procurement

4.1 Introduction There may be circumstances where international competitive bidding is not the most economic and efficient method of procurement or of implementing the project and where other methods, such as competitive bidding advertised locally and in accordance with local procedures, comparative shopping or purchase of stock items off the shelf, or construction by force account, may be appropriate. The appropriate procedures and the categories of goods and works to which they apply should be agreed between the OPEC Fund and the recipient, and reflected in the loan agreement. In determining the acceptability of particular procedures, the OPEC Fund will take into account the principles of fairness, equality of opportunity, economy, and efficiency in arriving at a solution which is the most advantageous for the recipient, which underlies the procedures for bidding, evaluation, and award set forth in Part 1 of these guidelines for international competitive bidding. 4.2 Examples Examples of situations where international competitive bidding may not be suit­ able and of the procurement arrangements, which may be more appropriate to each of them, are set forth below: a) Competitive bidding advertised locally and in accordance with local pro­ cedures, acceptable to the OPEC Fund, may be the most efficient and eco­ nomical way of: (i) executing civil works whose character, location, or size is such that it is clearly unlikely that foreign contractors would be interested in tendering or, that the advantages of international competitive bidding would clearly be outweighed by the administrative or financial burden involved; or (ii) purchasing equipment or materials whose character or the quantities involved would have the same results. Examples of (i) might be feeder roads, rural schools, or small, widely sep­ arated works and of (ii) furniture or building materials. Competitive bidding of this sort should be advertised in the local press, but needs not be notified to the international community or advertised outside the country (see Para. 1.3). The local procedures under which it is carried out must be acceptable to the OPEC Fund. b) Under special circumstances, force account may be the most efficient and eco­ nomical way of executing certain civil works. The OPEC Fund should be sat­ isfied that local forces are staffed, equipped, and organized to carry out the

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