Who wins development-bank contracts in Suriname (IDB and World Bank, 2018–2026)

The Inter-American Development Bank publishes contract awards for the projects it finances as open data (CC BY 4.0), including the awarded firm, its country, contract type and amount in US dollars. The World Bank publishes award notices for each contract.[1][2]

For this analysis we took the IDB's Suriname records for contracts signed from 2018 to 2025 worth at least US$10,000, excluded individual consultants and any name that might be a person, and merged contracts the dataset lists twice. That leaves 339 contracts worth US$143.2 million. The same rules drive our contract-awards database, which also holds the World Bank's notices.[1]

• Firms registered in Suriname won 262 of the 339 contracts (77%) and US$64.0 million (45% of the value).
• Firms registered in China won 8 contracts worth US$46.6 million (33% of the value).
• Works (construction) accounts for 43 contracts and US$66.5 million. Chinese-registered contractors won 7 of them, worth 51% of the works value; Surinamese contractors won 35, worth 44%.

In other words, Surinamese firms take most of the contracts by number (goods, consulting, audits and smaller works), while a handful of large works packages go to Chinese contractors, often in partnership with a Surinamese firm.[1]

• China Road and Bridge Corporation & Kuldipsingh Infra (joint venture) — Saramacca Canal bridge in the Van 't Hogerhuysstraat under the ITLCS programme; signed 16 November 2023; opened 26 March 2025. The IDB records US$16.7 million; the ministry gave the contract value as US$8.3 million and, at the opening, US$9.3 million for the bridge and connecting roads.
• The 23rd Metallurgical Construction Group — new Ministry of Health building at Rode Kruislaan 22; contract 16 August 2023; US$12.8 million in the IDB data (recorded there as a consulting contract).
• PowerChina Jiangxi Electric Power Construction — IDB-financed agriculture-programme works (US$7.8 million, 2024) and energy works for EBS (US$2.5 million, 2023), in addition to the World Bank-financed Doorsteek lock and sluices (US$11.3 million, 2024).
• Aannemingsmaatschappij Baitali — Paramaribo Urban Rehabilitation works (US$5.5 million, 2023) and a logistics centre at the Nieuwe Haven (US$2.5 million, 2023).
• SINOSOAR — solar-hybrid mini-grids for EBS in Brokopondo district (several contracts, 2022–2023).

• ICT equipment: Computer Hardware Services (CHS) and Smart ConneXXionZ are among the most frequent goods suppliers; SIOC supplies servers and systems for the World Bank-financed mining cadastre.
• Audit and accounting: Tjong A Hung Accountants is the most frequent external auditor in the IDB data, followed by Crowe Burgos Accountants and BDO.
• Consulting: Minves and Humus Consulting won the World Bank-financed tourism assignments (2024–2026).
• Works: Baitali and its utilities company UCC, and other local contractors, win the mid-sized civil and utility works.

For an international contractor, the pattern is to bid on the large IDB- and World Bank-financed works packages, usually with a Surinamese partner for local resources and permits (as CRBC did with Kuldipsingh Infra). For a Surinamese firm, the volume is in goods, audits and consulting, where a track record on earlier funder contracts is what evaluators see first.

Both groups should follow the funders' procurement plans and notices instead of waiting for a call. The awards database shows who won what, so you can see your competitors and possible partners.