OREANDA-NEWS. August 11, 2009. In Jan-July 2009 Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation saved 300mln RUR due to its program to centralize its procurement activities, says Director of Rosatom’s Procurement Center Andrey Rakhmaninov, reported the press-centre of Minatom.

The project is part of the national program to create a federal procurement system and to reform procurement activities and is aimed at ensuring the transparency of corporate procurements.

“We had to create a system guaranteeing protection from unscrupulous suppliers,” says Rakhmaninov.

On July 27 2009 Rosatom adopted unified corporate procurement standards specifying procurement rules and agencies responsible for procurement activity in the nuclear industry. It was a serious step towards transparent and open procurements in one of the most closed industries of Russia.

“In Nov 2009 we will start applying these standards,” says Rakhmaninov.

According to the unified standards, Rosatom and its enterprises can carry out procurements in the framework of federal target programs (capital construction, research and development, etc.) worth 500,000,000 RUR and over. The unified standards also regulate corporate procurements from extra-budgetary sources. Here Rosatom companies can carry out procurements worth no more than 500,000,000 RUR. One of the key goals of the Procurement Center is to reduce corruption risks in the corporate procurement system.

“In Aug 2009 Rosatom is launching a web-site on its procurement activities. It will provide information on all tender procedures in the sector,” says Rakhmaninov.

He believes that as much as 30% of the total goods and services can be procured through electronic trading sites.

In order to control procurements, Rosatom has set up a Central Arbitration Committee, which is subordinate to Director General of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko.

“Any company participating in a tender can complain to the center in case of any problem and its complaint will be considered within 10 days,” says Rakhmaninov.

Rosatom controls both civil and military sectors of Russia’s nuclear industry.