What this is about
Saudi healthcare is shifting a growing share of care from hospital to the patient's home. In 2023, the Vision 2030 health transformation programme counted over 68,000 home care beneficiaries; the home care services market is estimated at USD 1.63 billion in 2024, with annual growth of 7.2 per cent expected through 2030. Against this background, NUPCO, the central procurement body for public healthcare, has opened a framework agreement that will, for three years, allow healthcare bodies across the Kingdom to order home care devices under the awarded terms.
The list of items, published on 30 September 2026, comprises 53 lines for 54,672 units: wheelchairs in various configurations account for 80 per cent of the volumes, followed by 5,836 electric beds, 3,271 pressure-relief mattresses and 1,871 mobile lifting hoists. Chinese competition on standard wheelchair pricing is strong and well established; the opportunity for an Italian manufacturer lies rather in electric beds, pressure-relief mattresses, lifting hoists and wheelchairs for severe disability, where build reliability, after-sales support and long-term durability matter more than purchase price.
Companies based abroad may also compete, provided they hold the required SFDA certificates: establishment licence, authorised representative of the manufacturer, and marketing authorisation. Companies that do not yet hold these certificates are unlikely to obtain them before the October deadline, since the review of the marketing authorisation alone for Class A devices takes 35 working days. The agreement is open-ended, however: each year NUPCO reconsiders bids excluded for incomplete certification, which makes it worthwhile to submit a bid through a qualified Saudi distributor regardless, while preparing in the meantime to re-enter at the annual update.
