Public tenders continue to grow in value and size

The market for public procurement was worth about zł.37 billion in 2003, which was over zł.2 billion more than a year earlier. Despite that fewer tenders were announced, and expenditure on construction works was lower, the value of tenders dramatically rose. "The lower number of tenders is the result of local councils' difficult situation and the overall condition of the economy. On the top of this, attempts to bypass the law are popular," said Justyna Olszewska from the Public Procurement Office (IZP). Among the contracts carried out in 2003, 64% of them did not exceed zł.400,000 in value, while 14% exceeded zł.1 million. Due to the falling number of tenders, competition among companies is getting fiercer. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) M.M.