Integrated contract in Law 14.133/2021: new law, same problems? A study of comparative law

Résumé

The purpose of this article is to analyze whether expansion allowed cases for design-build biddings might improve positive impacts on the efficiency of public procedures. Hence, both Brazilian and international experiences will be studied with attention to design-build and turnkey contracts. In integrated contracting procurements, basic and executive projects must be done by the same company that shall execute the project and its further execution. Consequently, public Administration must only provide a draft. Resolutely, the hypothesis is that these amplification allowances increase the risks of other contract failures. The methodology used was a dialectical-inductive method comparing both Brazilian and international cases of integrated contracts. Firstly, it is demonstrated when Design-Build procurements were first allowed in Brazil and how and why their uses have been amplified. Additionally, the international scenario shall be examined to determine if restrictions imposed by most countries have accompanied the use of integrated contracts for public Administration in Brazil. Subsequently, a comparative examination of several hiring public models will be examined to answer whether integrated contracts biddings might benefit public sectors. The conclusion is that significant expansion of possibilities of using the integrated contracting, forecasted in Law 14.133/2021, poses risks of reducing the efficiency of public administration unless several measures are to be adopted in the planning phase with particular attention to those related to the draft selecting requirements, just like most developed countries have already done.