The ministry says a total of 8,975 public procurement processes, ie. tenders held and organized by the public sector, were held in 2023, including 2,164 simplified processes and 1,549 smaller procurement rounds.

Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev (Reform) said: "Public procurement holds immense purchasing power and play a significant role in boosting the economy."

"As a result of the processes last year, 14,896 procurement contracts worth over €5.8 billion have been concluded so far. Since some procurement processes are still ongoing, that financial volume will rise," Võrklaev went on.

"The announcement of public procurement rounds has also begun at a vigorous pace in 2024, with over 3,000 already initiated in the first four months of this year," the minister added.

Estella Põllu, head of the public procurement sector at the ministry, said the most success in strategic procurement has been achieved with environmentally friendly tenders.

"Certainly, social responsibility and innovation in public procurements need more awareness and encouragement," she added.

"We are promoting strategic procurement via international cooperation."

"The OECD has also come to our aid, and together we are planning development activities to support procurers and developing a competency model for procurement organizers," the official went on.

Around 700 institutions in Estonia organize public procurement rounds each, the ministry reported.

The public sector orders products, services, and construction works, accounting for up to 18 percent of Estonia's GDP, and one-third of the state budget.

The 2023 figure was up 139 compared with the previous year, with 8,975 procurement rounds initiated and 14,896 contracts concluded.

On average, 4.07 bidders participated per procurement, the ministry said, while winning tenders were in 88 percent of cases determined based on the lowest price offer, as has been the case in recent years.

A total of 161 procurement processes (1.79 percent of the total) were disputed, up 38 on 2022's figure.

Over 3,000 public procurement procedures have already been initiated in 2024, while as noted the final figure for 2023 will be higher than that cited so far.

In the coming years, the challenges include increasing the professionalism of procurers, reducing bureaucracy in procurement processing, the ministry says.

As with other European countries, Estonia's strategic direction is to conduct more value-based procurement rounds in the future, supporting important national goals, including environmental and social policies and innovation.

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