Dubai: All government supply contracts will be open for tender on a new portal: eSupply, bringing more transparency and credibility to the procurement process, Ahmad Bin Huamidan , Director General of Dubai government announced yesterday.

He said: “The launch of the eSupply portal has unified and integrated the procedures for tendering across all government entities, creating a platform for electronic transactions as well as eliminating obstacles and vagueness in business dealings with government.”

From today, the business community will be able to tender for all government contracts through this portal. Over 1,000 procurement professionals from 35 government entities will post tenders and evaluate bids, Bin Huamidan added. The entire process will be managed online to save time and effort and reduce paperwork.

Suhail Al Banna, CEO of Tejari, the eSourcing provider, added: “The number of suppliers registered with all government entities is estimated to be 1,800. Now, other businesses have the chance of applying online and winning the contract.”

There are fees to access the portal, ranging between Dh5,000 to Dh20,000 depending on the size of the company and the number of users. All traders who have a licence in Dubai can sign up for an account via http://esupply.dubai.gov.ae.

Government officials have been given technical support during the auctions and suppliers have been trained in the new system. Currently, there are over 360 tenders from different government entities posted on this portal and it has recorded a steady increase in the number of users to about 200 a month, Al Banna said.

Bin Humaidan pointed out that using the portal is not obligatory as other channels for tender will remain. However, companies that use the portal will receive additional points in the government’s excellence award programme.