The number of companies enrolled in the Electronic Public Procurement System - which allows economic operators to apply for government tenders online - increased by 26,000, or 300% in 2014, Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar said today.
Mr Cutajar was speaking at a meeting for economic operators, the first one of its kind, on how the Public Service is facilitating the public contracts process.
Mr Cutajar said that, before the change in administration, it would take between 233 and 278 days to evaluate and award a tender. The EU average is less than 100 days. After a restructuring exercise, the process in Malta now takes 115 days.
The Principal Permanent Secretary said government tenders have increased to 7,700. The number of companies registered in the ePPS system has also increased. Around 800 are foreign companies.
The Contract Department's Customer Care office is also helping operators and has received some 1,700 telephone calls since last October.
"We have chosen 'Quality Service' as a theme for the Public Service Week because our aim is not only to improve the service but also the quality."
Mr Cutajar said the government removed the barriers keeping economic operators from applying for public tenders and the Public Service is implementing other measures with the aim of becoming more customer-friendly." One-stop-shops will be launched later on this year.
The government will be holding other meetings with economic operators in the coming weeks.