Abbas, Haitham (SPAC/PSPC)

Haitham Abbas serves as a Contracting Authority within the Department of Public Works and Government Services, where he leads the acquisition of mission-critical maritime infrastructure and technical systems essential to federal operational readiness. In this primary contracting role, he is responsible for managing the full lifecycle of procurement activities—from market research and solicitation development to contract award and performance monitoring—for shipbuilding and repair initiatives. His work directly supports the Government of Canada’s strategic imperative to modernize and sustain its naval and maritime assets, ensuring the reliability of federal transportation and defense infrastructure through compliant, transparent, and efficient contracting practices. Abbas engages with a specialized ecosystem of defense and marine industrial contractors, primarily those with expertise in naval vessel construction, repair, and systems integration. While no single contractor dominates his portfolio, he consistently collaborates with Tier-1 shipyards, marine engineering firms, and specialized suppliers of propulsion, navigation, and hull systems. His contracting approach emphasizes technical compliance, lifecycle cost analysis, and performance-based outcomes, fostering long-term partnerships with vendors capable of meeting stringent federal specifications and security requirements. Abbas’s procurement portfolio reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of his acquisitions conducted without set-aside designations such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB. This indicates a focus on technical capability and industrial capacity over socioeconomic categorization, aligning with the specialized nature of shipbuilding, where only a limited number of qualified vendors possess the necessary certifications, facilities, and security clearances to perform the work. His primary procurement focus is exclusively on NAICS 336611—Ship Building and Repairing—encompassing the acquisition of naval vessels, dry docks, repair facilities, and associated marine systems. He specializes in procuring complex, high-integrity systems requiring compliance with Defence Construction Canada standards and Canadian Defence Standards, demonstrating deep expertise in maritime engineering procurement and defense logistics.