Govt committed to transition to fully electronic public procurement

State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki on Tuesday said the government is committed to completing Bangladesh's transition to a fully electronic government procurement (e-GP) system to ensure efficient, transparent and time-bound public procurement.

He came up with the information while addressing two stakeholder consultation workshops on strengthening the e-GP system, ensuring its mandatory implementation and enhancing the institutional capacity of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA).

The workshops, organised by the BPPA, were held at the National Economic Council-2 Conference Room and the BPPA Conference Room at BPPA Bhaban on the Bangladesh Planning Commission campus in Dhaka.

The consultations were part of an ongoing initiative to gather recommendations from stakeholders on improving the e-GP platform, making its use mandatory across all public procurement and strengthening the institutional capacity of the BPPA.

The morning session brought together senior government officials and project directors from various ministries, divisions and agencies involved in implementing the e-GP system.

The afternoon session, which focused on upgrading the platform, was attended by representatives from the public and private ICT sectors, technology and engineering universities, and leading ICT associations.

Speaking as the chief guest at both sessions, the state minister said the government attaches the highest priority to the timely implementation of development projects and considers a fully functional e-GP system essential for improving efficiency, transparency, accountability and value for money in public procurement.

He noted that public procurement accounts for a significant share of government development expenditure, making stronger procurement governance crucial for achieving better project outcomes.

"We want mandatory e-GP implementation in all public procurement across the country. To achieve this, the system must become more efficient, more user-friendly and better aligned with the needs of all stakeholders," Saki said.

He said the government remains committed to accelerating the implementation of development projects while ensuring higher standards of quality, transparency and accountability throughout the procurement process.

The sessions were chaired by BPPA Chief Executive Officer SM Moin Uddin Ahmed, while Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) Secretary Shirajun Noor Chowdhury attended as the special guest.

BPPA Director Shah Eyamin-Ul Islam presented keynote papers at both workshops, while Senior System Analyst Md Mosharraf Hussain outlined the roadmap for upgrading the national e-GP system during the afternoon session.

Speaking at the workshops, the BPPA chief executive officer said the authority will continue engaging stakeholders through consultations in Dhaka and other parts of the country to identify practical challenges in implementing the e-GP system.

"We will organise more stakeholder dialogues, including outside Dhaka, to gather practical feedback on the implementation of the e-GP system. Through these consultations, we aim to identify challenges and formulate effective solutions in collaboration with all stakeholders involved in public procurement," he said.

IMED Secretary Shirajun Noor said weaknesses in project design often undermine effective implementation and stressed the need for better project preparation alongside stronger procurement systems to ensure timely implementation, improved efficiency and higher-quality outcomes, reports UNB.