Abu Dhabi Value certification is similar to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) “In-Country Value” (ICV) program. Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has introduced an Abu Dhabi value certification program in 21st April, 2019 which requires that all suppliers of goods or services of any Department related to Abu Dhabi’s Government are mandated to calculate and declare their certified ADV score for the previous financial year, to demonstrate how they are helping to deliver Abu Dhabi value certification.
Abu Dhabi value certification will affect any party wishing to directly (or indirectly) engage with the Government departments of Abu Dhabi. Suppliers will be asked to submit an ADV Certificate along with their bid. ADV is mainly relevant during the evaluation phase. Bidders having passed the technical evaluation will be ranked in accordance with:
- best price; and
- best ADV score.
It should be noted that Abu Dhabi value certification is the second localization program in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Suppliers engaged in business with Abu Dhabi’s Government Departments will need to familiarize themselves with the ADV program keeping in view the significance which the government is placing on UAE’s economic growth and localization.
It is expected that the ADV score will be calculated by combining the ADV Certificate and the ADV Improvement Plan (also referred to as “combined” or “overall score”). It is expected that the ADV Improvement Plan will be weighed higher than the ACV Certificate (e.g. 60% ADV Improvement Plan and 40% ADV Certificate) to stress the importance of the supplier’s future localization commitments. As in ADNOC’s ICV, the bidder with the best ADV overall score will be given the chance to match the best commercial offer. Should the bidder with the best ADV score not be able to match this price, the bidder with the second-best ADV score would be asked to match the price, and so forth.
From the information available, the ADV score as shown in the ADV Certificate is calculated based on a formula that differentiates between:
- the supplier type: (a) goods manufacturers and (b) service providers (respectively 50%);
- company related aspects: (a) local investment (25%); (b) Emiratisation of workforce (15%); (c) expatriate contribution (10%).