ChileCompra donates software for the development of a public procurement platform to Buenos Aires provincial government

By: Direccion ChileCompra
Published: November 10, 2009

The General Secretary of the Province of Buenos Aires, José Scioli, said that “Chile has pioneered the implementation of an online public procurement system capable of integrating all public agencies. This system has produced very successful results, creating a model which others are now following.”

Through the Public Procurement Bureau, the Chilean government donated the software license for the online platform known as “Mercado Público” to the provincial government of Buenos Aires, and shall soon begin transferring the necessary knowledge and technical expertise.

After more than 18 months of joint collaboration, the decision was implemented on October 7, as the Director of ChileCompra, Felipe Goya Goddard, and the General Secretary of the Province of Buenos Aires, José Scioli, signed an agreement of mutual assistance and collaboration.

“Chile has pioneered the implementation of an online public procurement system capable of integrating all public agencies. This system has produced very successful results, creating a model which others are now following,” said José Scioli.

The government authority said that, through this agreement, “we shall adapt the system to the current needs of the Province of Buenos Aires, modernizing our public contracting and procurement system, making it more efficient and flexible, and producing greater savings.”

Meanwhile, the Director of Chile Compra, Felipe Goya Goddard, pointed out that this donation to Buenos Aires “is a very important milestone for the Chilean government, as we begin to share systems and establish common standards with other countries in the region. In the future, this may allow us to establish a large, integrated regional public procurement market.”

The ceremony was held at the Public Procurement Bureau headquarters in Santiago, with the participation of Mr. Scioli, Mr. Goya Goddard, the Sub-Secretary of State Modernization, Diego Gorgal, and the Provincial Director of Public Management, Miguel Mouriñl —both from the General Secretariat of the Province of Buenos Aires— as well as Aldo Azar, Legal and Technical Secretary of the General Government Accounting Office, Trinidad Inostroza, the Head of ChileCompra’s Legal and Corporate Division, Bárbara Matamala, the Head of the International Unit, and Catalina Uribe, the Head of Communications.

Sciolli emphasized that this agreement completes the steps previously taken by the Province of Buenos Aires, where both legislative chambers unanimously approved Law No. 13,981, which regulates the public contracting subsystem, a part of the public sector’s financial administration system. During 2008, the Executive Branch and provincial supervisory bodies collaborated on this legal initiative.

Article 10 of this new law establishes that public agencies must tender, contract, award and manage all purchases of goods, services and works set forth in the legislation, exclusively through the online or digital systems created for this purpose by the corresponding institutional authority established by the Executive Branch.