Supplier checklist · Saudi government contracts

Local content requirements in Saudi Arabia: a supplier's checklist for government contracts and network equipment

Local content requirements in Saudi Arabia are the conditions a government tender sets for national products and local spending: which listed products must be supplied as national products, which local content mechanisms apply to the bid, and what the contractor must report after award. The local content preference regulation requires tender documents to state them, so you will find them in the tender's local content section. This checklist covers what to prepare before you bid, in the bid and after award, with notes for suppliers of network equipment.

Discuss locally assembled devices for your tender Go to the checklist

Where they are written: in the tender documents, which must list the mandatory list products, the mechanisms that apply, their terms and the evaluation criteria (Article 7).
What decides them: the type and value of the contract. Supply contracts rely on the mandatory list and the share of national products; high-value contracts of other types use a baseline and a target.
What you submit: local content data on the local content portal, the origin of each item, and a target where the tender asks for one.
After award: delivery of compliant products, a gradual plan, progress reports and final reports.
If you fall short: exclusion at bid stage, or fines of up to 10% after award.

What the tender documents must include

Article 7 of the Regulations on Preference for Local Content requires tender documents to include, depending on the type and value of the tender:

Local content items in tender documents
Item	What it tells you
Mandatory list products	Which items in the bill of quantities must be supplied as listed national products
Local content mechanisms	Whether the price preference, the local content weight or a minimum local content requirement applies
Terms and evaluation criteria	How each mechanism is applied to your bid
Exclusion clause	Where the weight or minimum mechanism applies, a bid without a targeted local content percentage is excluded

LCGPA prepares the local content terms used in contract forms and tender documents (Article 6). Its guide to the contract-level minimum requirement places the minimum in the local content requirements section of the tender's conditions and specifications booklet.

Which local content requirements in Saudi Arabia apply to your contract

Typical local content requirements by contract type
Contract	Requirements you should expect	Articles
Supply contract	Mandatory list compliance; comparison by share of national products; a final report proving national origin. LCGPA may also designate a supply contract for the local content weight or a minimum requirement	9, 11, 13, 18, 27
High-value contract (not supply)	Baseline and targeted local content scored with price, or a minimum target; a gradual plan and reports	14–27
Contract that is not high-value (not supply)	Price preference for local SMEs; LCGPA may designate the project for the local content weight or a minimum requirement	4, 18, 27
Project designated by LCGPA	A minimum local content baseline; bidders below it are disqualified at technical evaluation	15

The amount that makes a contract high-value is set by LCGPA in agreement with EXPRO (Article 3).

The checklist

Before you bid

Read the local content section first. Note every mechanism, minimum and report the tender names.
Mark the listed items. Find the bill of quantities items that are on the mandatory list, by product description and code.
Check your certificate. Your baseline comes from your establishment's local content certificate; confirm its percentage and expiry date.
Prepare your status documents. If you are a local SME or listed on the capital market, have the proof ready.
Get supplier quotes with origin. For each major item, record whether it is national or foreign and what documents the supplier can provide.
Use the local content portal. Bidders register and submit their local content data through it (Article 5).

In the bid

State the origin of every item. An item whose origin you do not state is treated as foreign (Article 11).
Include your target where required. Put the targeted local content percentage in the technical bid on the portal form, at or above any minimum in the tender (Articles 16 and 25).
Answer clarification requests fully. Inadequate answers about the target can disqualify the bid (Article 16).

After award

Deliver compliant listed products. The agency may not accept listed products that breach the list, unless they were exempted for you (Article 9).
Submit the gradual plan within 60 days of award on the portal form, matching your target (Article 20).
Report progress as the tender documents require (Article 21).
Prove national origin in supply contracts in a final report within 30 days of the contract end (Article 13).
Report the local content reached at the end of the contract, for LCGPA's approval (Article 22).
Keep your records. LCGPA's target model guide asks for complete records, including assumptions and calculations, for at least 10 years.

Penalties to price into your bid

Consequences of missing local content requirements
Shortfall	Consequence	Article
Bid does not comply with the mandatory list (supply tenders)	Bid excluded, or only the non-compliant items in a divisible bid	9
Target below the tender's minimum	Bid disqualified at technical evaluation	25
Share of national products not met (supply contract)	Fine of up to 10% of the supply contract value	29
National products not preferred for materials	Fine of up to 10% of the affected item's value	30
Gap of more than 5% between target and reached local content	Fine of up to 10% of the contract value	31
Final report not submitted on time	Fine of up to 10% of the contract value	32

Total fines are capped at 20% of the contract value. With the Minister of Finance's approval, the fine percentages and the cap may be raised if bidders are told before they submit (Articles 33 and 34). Serious or repeated local content shortfalls are also referred to the committee under the procurement law (Articles 37 and 38).

Notes for network equipment suppliers

Is the device category listed? Search LCGPA's current mandatory list by description and code. If it is, compliance decides the bid, and the factory must be registered for the product.
Minimum local content for listed products. On 17 February 2026, the Saudi Press Agency reported that LCGPA had made a minimum local content percentage in the enterprise-level local content certificate a condition for benefiting from the mandatory list, starting with 233 products from 1 August 2026. Check whether your device category is covered, and from which date.
Origin documents. Know which proof of national origin you will submit for each device, and ask your device supplier for it before you bid.
The locally built model. Check that the device's type approval covers the model actually built in the Kingdom.
The amount of local work. SKD and CKD assembly put different amounts of work in the Kingdom; local content is measured under LCGPA's methodology, not the supplier's description.

The mandatory list of national products explained

Network devices assembled in Riyadh by IK Semiconductor

IK Semiconductor (Interkey Semiconductor) is an Interkey group company that assembles network devices in Riyadh under OEM contracts.

Today, at the SKD stage: partly built sub-assemblies are completed, tested, loaded with firmware and packaged in Riyadh.
Planned for 2028, the CKD stage: complete assembly from individual components, including SMT and DIP board processes.
Device families: 5G CPE, Mesh Wi-Fi and ONT are the factory's SKD product lines, ready for manufacturing partnerships; 5G MiFi is a planned line.
Local content certificate: IK Semiconductor holds a local content certificate issued by LCGPA; ask us for a copy.
Mandatory list: IK Semiconductor is listed on LCGPA's mandatory list for government procurement.

Whether a device we assemble meets a specific tender's requirements is checked per product, against the tender documents and LCGPA's records. Ask us which documents we can provide for your device.

Contract manufacturing of network devices in Riyadh

Questions suppliers ask

Where do I find the local content requirements in a tender?

In the tender documents. Article 7 requires them to list the mandatory list products, the mechanisms that apply, their terms and the evaluation criteria.

Do these requirements apply to purchases by state-owned companies?

The regulation addresses government agencies. Companies in which the state holds more than 50% are covered by a separate local content regulation, so check which one applies to the buyer.

Do we need a local content certificate to bid?

Where the tender scores or sets a minimum on the baseline, your baseline comes from your certificate. For a growing number of mandatory list products, a minimum percentage in the enterprise-level local content certificate is also a condition for benefiting from the list.

What if a listed item cannot be sourced locally?

The buying agency, not the supplier, requests an exception from LCGPA with evidence. Our mandatory list guide explains the grounds and evidence.

Discuss locally assembled devices for your tender

Tell us the device, the quantities, the delivery dates and the local content requirements in your tender. We will reply with what the Riyadh line can assemble at its current stage and which steps take place in the Kingdom.

info@interkey-sc.com.sa · +966-11-2180999 · +966-55-3475469 · Riyadh, Saudi Arabia