DHAKA, April 13, 2025 (BSS) - The government has put due stress on proper and
timely implementation of various projects to avert misuse in such huge
expenditure as currently around US$30 billion are spent annually on public
procurement in Bangladesh.

On an average, about 1,500 projects are included in the Annual Development
Programme (ADP) every year. If it is possible to achieve the goals and
objectives of these projects, then it will have huge positive impact on the
country's economy.

Md. Mahfuzar Rahman, director (Joint Secretary) of Bangladesh Public
Procurement Authority (BPPA), said this as the chief guest at a workshop on
BPPA's functions and exchange of experience on e-GP in Bhola district today.

Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Md. Azad Jahan chaired the
workshop held at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner's Office.
 
The workshop organised by BPPA was managed by the Bangladesh Center for
Communication Programs (BCCP), said a press release.

Representatives of various procuring entities of the district, bank
representatives, tenderers, journalists and BCCP representatives were present
at the workshop.

Md. Mahfuzar Rahman said, "The current government is emphasizing on reforms
and transparency in all areas. One of the reforms in public procurement is
the digitization of public procurement or e-GP. Currently, about 65 percent
of government procurement is being done through e-GP."

"We need to increase this to 100 percent," he said adding that Bangladesh's
e-GP system has already received appreciation from both at home and abroad.
 
So far, Mahfuzur said some 11 countries and five international organisations
have monitored Bangladesh's e-GP system and its implementation.

"The e-CMS has been launched in the country through which real-time data on
project implementation can be monitored from the office. It is linked to the
e-GP system. The tenderers' payment is being sent to their accounts," he
added.

Additionally, the BPPA official said e-audit has been launched while work is
underway to interconnect e-GP with the DVS system to verify the financial
statements submitted by bidders online.

Mentioning several positive achievements of e-GP, he said 70 percent of
tender notices could be published in 2007, which has now increased to 100
percent.

In 2007, only 10 percent of work orders were awarded within the initial
period of tender validity, which has been increased to 96.63 percent. The
average number of acceptable tenders against each tender has increased from
only 3 to 10.68.