Thuringia simplifies contract awarding: billion for the local economy!

Thuringia simplifies contract awarding: billion for the local economy!

The Thuringian state plays a key role in the regional economy. Every year it awards public contracts worth over a billion euros, which not only stimulates the economy but also offers numerous companies opportunities. But to make it easier for smaller companies to access these orders, a reform is now on the agenda. Economics Minister Colette Boos-John (CDU) announced several measures that are intended to simplify the procurement law rules. The reform could have a major impact on many companies in the region, as it is aimed at reducing bureaucracy and thereby increasing competitiveness, as n-tv reports.

The planned changes come as part of the Thuringian state government's 100-day emergency program and aim to make the procurement procedures more efficient. In the spring, an adjusted administrative regulation ensured that smaller companies had easier access to public contracts. However, Boos-John emphasizes that the reform is also expected to provide impetus for state modernization. She is skeptical about some of the socio-political and ecological requirements in the procurement law and has made it clear that there are no plans to delete the procurement law, as some political opponents have demanded.

Innovations and adjustments in procurement law

The new procurement law regulations, now officially referred to as the “Thuringian Administrative Regulations for the Award of Public Contracts” (ThürVVöA), come into force on March 28, 2025 and replace the 2021 regulation. A main goal of this reform is to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and strengthen the regional economy. Here are some of the key innovations:

• Direktaufträge von 7.000 Euro auf 30.000 Euro (Liefer-, Dienst- und freiberufliche Leistungen) angehoben.
• Bauleistungen als Direktaufträge von 75.000 Euro auf 75.000 Euro.
• Erhöhung der Wertgrenze für freihändige Vergaben und beschränkte Ausschreibungen auf 1 Million Euro.
• Erweiterung des Anwendungsbereichs für Preisvergleiche bis zu 50.000 Euro über Online-Portale und Kataloge.
• Reduzierung der Dokumentationspflichten bei Aufträgen bis 7.000 Euro auf wesentliche Angaben.

These measures are expected to result in an estimated 3,100 orders, or around 75% of the orders currently awarded, being able to be awarded in accordance with the new regulations in the future. A quarter of these contracts could even be awarded without any bureaucratic hurdles, which will particularly benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which can now more easily apply for public contracts, such as [abg-net].

With this reform, the Thuringian Ministry of Economic Affairs would like to actively contribute to promoting the local economy and at the same time encourage public clients to take advantage of the new opportunities. The full administrative rule and relevant application information will be made available online to support the implementation of the new regulations.

In summary, it can be seen that these innovations not only reduce bureaucratic hurdles, but also increase regional competitiveness and thus have a positive influence on the Thuringian economy. If the new opportunities are taken advantage of by companies in the region, this could lead to a real upswing, as has already been the case in the past.