e-GP tenders cross 5 lakh-mark

The number of tenders invited through e-GP portal crossed 5 lakh today with a total value of about Tk5,10,499 crore.

This is a landmark achievement of the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system introduced by the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division under the Ministry of Planning, said a press release of CPTU.

The e-GP system has zero downtime. It remains active and functional throughout the Covid pandemic period with the helpdesk open round the clock. 

On 22 July, 2020, the number of tenders was at 4 lakh involving over Tk4,10,000 crore. 

There are 1,365 procurement agencies in the country. 

Until 1 August, a total of 1,362 agencies got registered with the e-GP system. The number of tenderers registered with e-GP stood at 88,294 on the day.

The release said both the procuring agencies and the tenderers embraced the ICT based digital procurement system as it has reduced physical hassles.

It also saves time and costs. About 85% of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and 45% of the national budget are spent on public procurement.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched the e-GP Portal on 2 June, 2011 as part of digitising public services.

In 2011, the online tendering was piloted in four large procuring agencies such as Local Government Engineering Department, Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Water Development Board and Rural Electrification Board.

Building on the success of piloting, the CPTU started implementing e-GP across the government procuring agencies from 2012. The World Bank has been providing support to the government in digitising public procurement.