Around 5.0-percent top contractors take 26 per cent of online government purchase deals as the much-hyped e-tendering system could hardly create a competitive environment nearly a decade into its existence, says a watchdog.
Besides, value of 99 per cent of the executed e-tenders remained below Tk 250 million while high-value government purchase orders still elude e-tendering.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) disclosed the figures at a press conference, titled 'Government e-procurement in Bangladesh: Monitoring the trend of competitive practices', held Monday at its office in Dhaka.
Executive Director of the Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based anti-graft agency Dr Iftekharuzzaman presented its study results at the press conference.
The TIB made a 6-point recommendation as remedies, including bringing the high-valued tenders under the e-tendering system, ensuring fair competition in government procurements through open tender system and strengthening monitoring on the tender and procurement system.
According to the TIB research study, Chattogram City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation awarded the maximum number of single tenders among city corporations.
Besides, every three projects of Chattogram City Corporation were awarded through a single tender while every two projects of Dhaka South City Corporation given through single tender, according to the survey.
"Around 63 per cent of tenders in Chittagong City Corporation and about 55- percent tenders in Dhaka South City Corporation were made only through one tender", the TIB survey report says.
Mentioning the rate of open tenders was 26 per cent, it said, adding that one-fourth of the work orders were given through a single tender while 70 per cent of e-procurement works were done by local contractors.
Moreover, the total value of the work orders given through single tenders was Tk 600 billion, which accounts for 15 per cent of the total projects and goods procured through e-tendering, it says.
Government procurements ranging between 20 per cent and 35 per cent were made through e-tendering process during the last one decade.
Although the average tender-reading rate had increased in the e-procurement, the average tender-submission rate was 3.54 per cent in the open system.
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