Abu Dhabi’s procurement overhaul saves over 400 million AED and accelerates tourism ambitions

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has implemented a major procurement reform, resulting in significant savings and faster processes, supporting the emirate’s push to expand its tourism sector by 2030.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has reported a substantial overhaul of its procurement operation that, according to the vendor announcing the work, generated savings in excess of 400 million AED across 2024 and 2025. Ivalua, a spend-...

management software provider, said the changes hinged on tighter contract controls, centralised repositories and the digitalisation of contract lifecycle management, which it credited with shortening procurement cycle times and strengthening compliance.

According to Ivalua, the initiative reduced procurement cycle times by 23% and drove compliance incidents down from more than 150 in 2024 to roughly 10 a year. The company also highlighted a 92% maturity score awarded by the Department of Government Enablement, which it said reflected robust governance and assurance arrangements. These performance figures were reported by Ivalua in a statement describing its role in the transformation.

DCT Abu Dhabi framed the programme as part of a broader shift in its remit, moving procurement beyond transactional duties towards a more strategic, value-creating role supporting the emirate’s tourism ambitions. Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Strategy 2030, approved by the crown prince, aims to expand visitor numbers to 39.3 million and lift the sector’s GDP contribution to 90 billion AED by 2030, while creating some 178,000 jobs, according to the department’s published strategy. The National has reported that the plan includes more than $10bn of planned infrastructure investment to underpin that expansion.

The procurement changes are presented as enabling that wider growth by improving transparency and speed in purchasing and contracting, critical as Abu Dhabi scales up tourism infrastructure and major projects. Recent high-profile developments in the emirate’s leisure offer , including announcements about new large-scale theme-park projects and other major resort investments , underscore the accelerating pace of capital programmes that will place growing demands on public-sector contracting and supplier management.

Ivalua’s release and DCT Abu Dhabi’s account both stress technology and process redesign as the drivers of the savings and performance gains. “Our procurement transformation is not just about efficiency; it is about creating a visionary operating system that raises standards, embeds fairness, and generates measurable value across government and the national economy. Our collaboration with Ivalua has been instrumental in achieving these outcomes and positioning DCT Abu Dhabi as a leader in procurement modernization,” said Khalifa Ahmed Al Marzooqi, Supply Management Department Director at DCT Abu Dhabi.

“We are honoured to support the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi’s transformative journey. Ivalua’s platform has been a critical enabler of this success, providing a flexible, integrated solution that supports DCT Abu Dhabi’s strategic goals. The partnership exemplifies how technology and process innovation can drive government-wide procurement excellence and economic impact,” said Dan Amzallag, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Ivalua.

The claims come primarily from the supplier and the department’s communications; independent verification of every metric cited in the announcement was not provided in the materials released. Nonetheless, government-set targets for tourism growth and the scale of planned infrastructure investment create a context in which streamlined procurement and stronger contract governance could materially affect project delivery and public spending outcomes as the emirate pursues its Tourism Strategy 2030.

Source: Noah Wire Services