ABU DHABI, UAE — June 7, 2010 — Monaqasat.com, the leading online tender process management provider in the Middle East today announced that more than AED 1 billion of project tenders have been managed and awarded through the provider’s online platform.
The company’s rapid growth can be attributed to the system’s ability to save developers and other bid owners manpower and operating costs, by bringing about significant efficiencies.
During a time when the construction industry, particularly in the UAE, has witnessed a significant slow-down, the rapid take up of Monaqasat’s services indicates the appetite from project owners for systems that can help cut operating costs and significantly reduce the time needed to take tenders from announcement to award.
The need for transparency and maintaining a clear audit trail is greater than ever as organizations are under increasing pressure to eliminate irregularities in the procurement process.
In just a year since the company launched in 2009, Monaqasat.com has attracted more than 500 companies to use the platform, and expects both the number of organizations using the service and the value of projects being tendered to grow exponentially in 2010. Companies using the system include banks, consultants and contractors such as ADCE (the engineering branch of ADCB), KEO, ACG, Helal & Partners, Syrconsult, Heberger Engineering, Dar Al Omran Abu Dhabi Architectural Engineering Consultancy and Al Meedan, Al Fara’a, Dhafra Intl Projects, Dhafir Development & Contracting LLC, Group 3, Q Construction LLC and Al Mezin General Contracting.
Monaqasat provides an online platform for the management of tenders. The system was developed with the sole goal of making the tender process easier, more secure and more transparent. The system enables project owners, documenters, verifiers, auditors and bidders, from developers, builders and contractors to architects and engineers to manage the entire tender process efficiently and more effectively.
Karim Helal, managing partner, commented, “We are delighted with the strong reception from the market, it reflects our vision and belief in the need for such a solution. Companies in the construction industry in particular have suffered as a result of the financial crisis, and we are able to help them save time and money, simply by providing a centralized platform from which the customer can manage all of their tenders.”
According to Dubai Municipality, despite the economic crisis, more than 2,500 buildings were completed in 2009, representing a collective value of AED 24.9 billion.
A Monaqasat client, Charles Saleh, Manager of the Tendering Department at Dhafir Development & Contracting LLC, said, “I am pleased, although not surprised that the uptake of the Monaqasat system has been so strong and rapid. The benefits it delivers are many and immediate. It has given us improved visibility and control over documents and indeed the whole process.”
The Monaqasat.com system allows project owners to manage the creation of tender specifications, control revision of documentation, invite participants, call for submissions, and finally award the tender. All parties have the ability to track the status of the bid at any time.