Public Procurement Authority and Competition Authority Expand Their Collaboration

Forex - The existing cooperation protocol between the Public Procurement Authority (KİK) and the Competition Authority (RK) is advancing to a new stage to enhance and protect the competitive environment in public procurement.

Today, a protocol was signed between KİK President Hamdi GÜLEÇ and RK President Birol KÜLE, which expands the cooperation between the two institutions in the development of artificial intelligence-supported tools for detecting competitive risks and potential violations in public procurements, as well as conducting joint statistical modeling and analysis studies.

Public procurement constitutes a significant part of economic activities worldwide. According to OECD data, the share of public procurement in GDP in many countries is around 12-15%, with approximately 30% of total public expenditures consisting of these procurements. In Turkey, the share of public procurement in GDP is about 6%, while around 36% of central government budget expenditures are composed of public procurements. In this context, establishing competitive processes in public procurement not only ensures the efficient use of public resources but also contributes to the healthy functioning of price formation in markets.

Indeed, a competitive tender process enables not only the efficient use of public resources but also creates a fair and transparent contest environment for enterprises. However, tender cartels formed through methods that hinder competition, such as collusion on bidding or sharing contracts, can undermine this process and cause public harm. Under the new cooperation signed today, RK and KİK will utilize AI-supported technologies to combat these types of violations. In this framework, there are plans to strengthen data analysis in the tender processes and to develop innovative tools that can automatically detect potential violations.

The joint efforts of the Competition Authority and the Public Procurement Authority demonstrate the determination of both institutions to protect competition in public tenders, use public resources efficiently, and sustainably ensure fair competition conditions in bidding markets. This step will also contribute to Turkey's strong position among the world's economies with a competitive and transparent tender system.