Revision of Public Procurement Rules underway: BPPA CEO
In an exclusive interview with The Business Standard, BPPA CEO SM Moin Uddin Ahmed discusses the timeline and significance of revising the Public Procurement Rules following recent amendments to the Public Procurement Act
The Public Procurement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, approved by the President on 4 May 2025, to bring further amendments to the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2006, has been published through gazette notification. To implement the amendments to the Act, it is essential to revise the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), 2008.
In a recent interview with The Business Standard, SM Moin Uddin Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) has touched upon the issues of PPR revisions and other aspects of public procurement.
Ahmed assumed office as the CEO of BPPA on 29 June 2025. On the same day, during an introductory meeting with all BPPA officials, Md Kamal Uddin, Secretary of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), emphasised the BPPA's priority activities.
Accordingly, Ahmed has expressed his commitment to accelerate the PPR amendment process.
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Can you share how much time the PPR revision may take?
Efforts are underway to bring necessary amendments to the PPR 2008 within the next two months.
What can you tell us about the background of the PPA amendment?
This has been a long-standing demand from tenderers, business community, procuring agencies, development partners and civil society. The government has brought significant changes to the PPA through the Ordinance.
What are the major changes in the PPA?
The major changes include removal of the 10% price cap for national works procurement under the Open Tendering Method (OTM), mandatory use of the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, disclosure of ownership information of awarded contractors or suppliers, inclusion of physical services as a separate procurement category, bringing general work and consulting services under framework agreements, development of comprehensive procurement plans for development projects in light of procurement strategies, introduction of the reverse auction method, and legal recognition of sustainable public procurement (SPP).
What is your message to the procuring entities?
The amendments brought under the PPA, 2006 will come into effect through a gazette notification only after the amendment to the PPR, 2008 is approved and officially issued. I am optimistic that the BPPA will be able to complete the review and necessary revisions within the next two months based on feedback from various stakeholders. Since the issuance of the Ordinance in last May, there has been interest—as well as some confusion—among procuring entities and other stakeholders regarding the effective date of the amended Act. All concerned parties are requested to remain patient until the amended rules are officially notified in the gazette. The BPPA is working relentlessly on this matter.
Has the amended PPA been shared with the public for feedback?
The PPA Amendment Ordinance has been published for the public. It has already been published on the BPPA website. Once the proposed amendments to the PPR, 2008 are finalised and officially notified through the gazette notification, procuring entities and other stakeholders will be able to carry out procurement activities in accordance with the updated rules.
Can you share how the BPPA was established?
On 18 September, 2023, the former Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) was transformed into the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), with the goal of improving the overall public procurement environment in the country and ensuring professionalism in public procurement.
What are the major issues BPPA is focusing on currently?
The BPPA is working to implement the Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) Policy issued by the government in 2023.
To digitise public procurement, the BPPA (formerly CPTU) launched the e-GP system in 2011. Since then, the electronic system has seen widespread expansion. The e-GP system has been acclaimed both nationally and internationally. So far, delegations from 11 countries and five international organisations have visited the BPPA to learn from Bangladesh's experience in e-GP. The BPPA is working to bring all public procurement under e-GP in the country. With the inclusion of some important features to e-GP, including the electronic Contract Management System (e-CMS), the e-GP is now a complete and comprehensive online procurement system.
