The Public Procurement Agency (PPA) on Wednesday launched a project to improve the skill of its staffs in implementing public procurement and enabling small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate.

The project, launched in Ha Noi by the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s PPA, is a co-operation with South Korean Public Procurement Service (PPS), Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM Bank) and WTO’s International Centre for Trade (ICT/WTO). It aims to increase Vietnamese investors’ and contractors’ knowledge about public procurement across the world.

The South Korean partners will share their experiences in building and developing the public procurement system.

Nguyen Dang Truong, director of PPA, said SMEs account for a large portion of Vietnamese business, and the Government is focusing on providing support to encourage SMEs to participate in the public procurement market. However, SMEs have limited acknowledge about laws and regulations regarding public procurement. “The project will be useful for SMEs to join the market,” Truong said. — VNS