The World Bank (WB) has asked the government to put in place electronic tendering as well as procurement systems within the next 15 months, thus making the country’s purchase process more transparent and digital-friendly. Initially, the Washington-based global lender wants the Dhaka-based government agencies to take the lead in introducing e-purchase in case of international procurement of goods and services.

“The bank has pushed for introduction of electronic procurement system within a year as part of the broader reform in the area of public purchase,” a senior official of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said on May 21. If introduced, the electronic tendering will revolutionise the way the bidding process is being done while replacing the traditional paper-based tendering system.

After a daylong haggling with the bank officials in the city, the government aid negotiators agreed to introduce the electronic system in procuring goods and services within the stipulated time to be eligible for “an almost seamless” loan.

Bangladesh launched a two-day loan negotiations with the bank at a city hotel for a US$25 million credit from the International Development Association, the global agency’s soft lending arm, to take up the second phase of the Public Procurement Reform Project (PPRP). The PPRP was undertaken in June 2002 and the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), a wing of the Planning Commission, was its implementing agency.

The loan proposal for the second phase is likely to be placed before the bank board on June 21. The e-tendering is part of the country’s broader goal of ensuring good governance and transparency in public procurement estimated at $3.0 billion a year. IMED officials say e-tenders will enable contractors or consultants to view current project tenders and download tender documents regardless of location. This system is expected to cut traditional time delays and allow regional suppliers to have access to information immediately. One of the important aspects of such tendering is that it will help accomplish all formalities of bidding within a timeframe of four months.

However the implementation of e-tender will require necessary infrastructure and a relevant information technology (IT) law. Around 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the development budget are being spent in public procurement, most of which is carried out by tenders. The Philippines, Malaysia, and South Korea pioneered the introduction of electronic tendering in the region while some of the states of India are successfully implementing the system. The bank would provide its support for the project extension to help the government sustain its reform drive.

Under the second phase, the government will carry out policy reforms in the light of the Public Procurement Rules, develop capacity of the public and private sectors to implement the law and strengthen monitoring to check corruption. Also, the government, in particular, will bring the Power Development Board, Rural Electrification Board, Water Development Board, Ports and Roads and Highways under strict monitoring to bridle graft in awarding tenders. The second phase is also aimed to hold the procuring agencies accountable to the society. In the first phase, the IMED of the Planning Commission had set up the Central Procurement Technical Unit and framed public procurement regulations in 2003. It was also instrumental in enacting the Public Procurement Law 2006 and is currently finalising the Public Procurement Rules.

Inadequate procurement expertise, complex bureaucratic decision-making process, allegations of corruption in the procurement of goods, works and services are often blamed for the delay in project implementation. Officials expressed the hope if the reform measures to overhaul the country’s public procurement regime are carried out, it would help speed up the project implementation.