Reaffirming its commitment to ensuring efficient, transparent, and time-bound public procurement, the government has pledged to complete the country's transition to a fully electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system. State Minister for Planning, Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki MP, made the announcement while addressing two stakeholder consultation workshops today.
Workshops and Stakeholder Engagement
The first workshop was held at the NEC-2 Conference Room, while the second took place at the BPPA Conference Room at BPPA Bhaban on the Bangladesh Planning Commission campus in Dhaka. Organized by the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), the workshops were part of an ongoing series of stakeholder consultations designed to gather recommendations on strengthening the e-GP system, ensuring its mandatory implementation across all public procurement, and enhancing the institutional capacity of the BPPA.
The morning session brought together senior government officials and project directors from various ministries, divisions, and agencies who play a key role in implementing the e-GP system. The afternoon session, with a particular focus on upgrading the e-GP platform, was attended by representatives from the public and private IT sectors, technology and engineering universities, and leading ICT associations.
Key Presentations and Discussions
The State Minister attended both workshops as the Chief Guest. The sessions were chaired by BPPA Chief Executive Officer (Secretary) S. M. Moin Uddin Ahmed, while Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) Secretary Mr. Shirajun Noor Chowdhury attended as the Special Guest.
BPPA Director Shah Eyamin Ul Islam delivered keynote presentations at both workshops, while Senior System Analyst Md. Mosharraf Hussain presented the roadmap for upgrading the national e-GP system during the afternoon session.
Government's Vision and Commitment
Addressing the participants, 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 indispensable for improving efficiency, transparency, accountability, and value for money in public procurement. He noted that public procurement accounts for a substantial share of government development expenditure and, therefore, strengthening procurement governance is critical to 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," he said. The State Minister further emphasized that the government remains committed to accelerating development project implementation while ensuring greater quality, transparency, and accountability throughout the procurement process.
Future Plans and Stakeholder Involvement
Speaking at the workshops, the BPPA Chief Executive Officer said the Authority would continue engaging stakeholders through a series of consultations both in Dhaka and across the country to better understand the practical challenges and limitations of e-GP implementation. "We will organize 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.
The IMED Secretary observed that weaknesses in project design often undermine effective implementation. He stressed the need for better project preparation alongside stronger procurement systems to ensure timely implementation, improved efficiency, and higher-quality outcomes.
