The Finance Ministry and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication announced adjusted higher yen-based thresholds for WTO public works tenders for 2016 and 2017 on January 25th The thresholds in the WTO Agreement on Public Procurement (GPA) are set in IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and fixed, however the local currency equivalent is adjusted periodically.
The higher yen-thresholds apply to construction and design/consultancy at both national and regional level. The changes become effective from the start of the new fiscal year on April 1st. The higher yen-based thresholds will mean that government entities, who calculate their contracts in yen, can keep larger projects out of the WTO framework.
The changes are as follows:
|
| 2014-2015 | 2016-2017 |
| SDR | JPY | JPY |
Central government entities |
|
|
|
Construction | 4,500,000 | 600,000,000 | 740,000,000 |
Architectural, engineering & Other Technical services related to construction | 450,000 | 60,000,000 | 74,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Sub-central Government Entities (Prefectures and designates cities) |
|
|
|
Construction | 15,000,000 | 2,020,000,000 | 2,400,000,000 |
Architectural, engineering & Other Technical services related to construction | 1,500,000 | 200,000,000 | 240,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
Other entities (Annex 3) |
|
|
|
Construction services for entities in Group A, except Japan Post | 15,000,000 | 2,020,000,000 | 2,400,000,000 |
Construction services for Japan Post and entities in Group B | 4,500,000 | 600,000,000 | 740,000,000 |
Architectural, engineering & Other Technical services related to 2 and 3 | 450,000 | 60,000,000 | 74,000,000 |
For the complete list of thresholds, check our pages here.
Sources: The Daily Engineering& Construction News January 26, 2015; Nikkei Online January 30, 2016 (Japanese).