King Salman approves teams to develop local content in govt agencies

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman

King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a royal decree approving the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority’s (LCGPA) request to form work teams to develop local content in all government agencies, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The teams, whose budget is financed from the Kingdom's general budget, will undertake all tasks and responsibilities related to the development of local content.

The decree directs government agencies involved in offering business, procurement and contracting to form teams to develop the local content, as well as carry out all tasks and responsibilities related to the development of the local content.

The teams should report to the head of the government agency concerned.

Further, these teams should work in cooperation and coordination with the authority to achieve compliance with the local content requirements, as well as industry localization and knowledge transfer agreements.

In addition, they will address the private sector complaints, provide technical opinion when examining offers, submit data and reports required by the authority, and provide periodic reports related to content development, as well as perform other relevant tasks.

Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of LCGPA, said the teams, in cooperation with the authority, will ensure the activation of all local content preference mechanisms stated in the Local Content, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, and Listed Companies' Preference Regulations.

The authority started implementing the royal decree by issuing guidelines for forming such teams and developed their work methodology.

The teams will be activated in three phases. The first phase begins with forming the teams, while the second includes holding workshops to clarify the mechanism and methodology through which the teams will work. In the last phase, the teams will start work.