The Generalitat Vice-President stands against price bidding for public tenders
Both bidding models and the amount of public money invested into public works were the main debate topics at the ASINCA Tribune with Oriol Junqueras in Barcelona. When questioned by the members present, the Generalitat Vice-President and Head of the Generalitat Treasury Department took a stand “against price bidding” for public tenders of engineering projects. He spoke in favour of collaborating with public and private entities for financing new infrastructure.
Junqueras asserted that the economic upturn and the subsequent increase in investment in Catalonia will be determined by its ability to reduce both the Generalitat’s non-financed deficit, as well as the weight of public debt on GDP. Although he gave no specific figures, the Vice-President anticipated that in 2017 “the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability’s budgetary availability will be the highest it has been in six years”. He also explained that the Executive are working on several ways to increase the investment capacity, such as reducing the deficit, decreasing payment periods, reducing public debt, and cracking down on tax avoidance. The performance criteria for these methods, however, is using public resources responsibly and not creating expectations which cannot be met.
During the Tribune guest’s presentation Josep Túnica, the president of ASINCA, requested that “the Generalitat support modernisation” for an industry which provides society with intellectual services. With regard to the volume of investment in infrastructure, Túnica proposed that the Generalitat move at a steady pace and, above all, invest efficiently so that projects are awarded based on quality rather than price. The meeting brought together some fifty members and was concluded by a meal which was also attended by Joan Jaume Oms, the president of the public company Infraestructures.cat.