As part of its efforts to gather input from key stakeholders at the field level on the proposed revisions to the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), 2008, the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) organized two workshops in Sylhet district and Companiganj Upazila on 21 August 2025.

The proposed amendments aim to align the Rules with the recently amended Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2006, incorporating significant changes to meet the expectations of all stakeholders. The workshop also addressed issues related to electronic Government Procurement (e-GP).

In Sylhet district, the workshop, organized by BPPA of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division and managed by the Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP), was attended by Mr. Md. Kamal Uddin, Secretary, IMED, as the chief guest. Mr. S.M. Moin Uddin Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BPPA and Additional Secretary, was present as the Special Guest.

Representatives of various procuring entities and tenderers of Sylhet and Companiganj attended the workshops.

Mr. Khan Md. Reza-Un-Nabi, Divisional Commissioner of Sylhet, also joined the event as a special guest, while Mr. Sarwar Alam, new Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Sylhet, presided over the workshop in Sylhet.

A presentation on the proposed amendments to PPR, 2008, was delivered by Mr. Shah Eyamin-Ul Islam, Director (Deputy Secretary) of BPPA.

In his remarks, the IMED Secretary stated, “We are working to revise the existing PPR, 2008, as the PPA, 2006 has already been amended. Updating the PPR is essential to make the law operational.”

He said that the issue of certain parties receiving contracts repeatedly needs to be examined. New entrants should be given space in public procurement. Citing the example of Australia, the Secretary said that large vendors there vacate space at night to make room for smaller vendors.

He further said, “We are collecting feedback from all concerned at various levels to ensure that the revised PPR is realistic and beneficial for all stakeholders.” He sought the cooperation of participants and encouraged them to provide their suggestions.

Speaking about the necessity of the amendments, BPPA CEO Mr. S.M. Moin Uddin Ahmed said, “We are working to create opportunities for new tenderers to enter the public procurement domain.” He added that BPPA has been working relentlessly to finalize the PPR revisions.

“Over the past one and a half months, we have conducted dialogues with various stakeholders. Now, we are also engaging with procuring entities and tenderers at the district and upazila levels,” he said.

He also informed that the draft of the proposed amendments to the PPR has been uploaded to the BPPA website, and urged all stakeholders to provide their feedback by 28 August 2025.

Another similar workshop was conducted in Companiganj Upazilla in the district in the afternoon of 21 August 2025.