FE REPORT
Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday directed the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) to take further steps to shorten the lead time in public procurement, saying faster procurement is essential to accelerate project implementation.
The minister said the procurement lead time had already been reduced to 54 days from around 100 days through the introduction of the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system and other reforms.
He made the remarks while presiding over the meeting of the Governing Board of the BPPA at the Authority's conference room on the Bangladesh Planning Commission campus.
The minister also laid stress on accelerating implementation of development projects and said the timeframe should be shortened further to speed up execution.
"The reduction in procurement lead time is encouraging, but it should be brought down further to expedite project implementation," he said.
Expressing concern over persistent delays in project execution, the minister said such delays undermine the government's development agenda.
As chairman of the BPPA Governing Board, the minister also stressed the need to strengthen competition and improve the quality of public procurement, saying better procurement performance would contribute to timely completion of public projects.
The minister also emphasised the importance of appointing competent project directors and enhancing their professional capacity to improve project execution. He further called for regular meetings of the BPPA Governing Board to ensure effective oversight and timely decision-making.
Earlier, BPPA Chief Executive Officer and Governing Board Member-Secretary S M Moin Uddin Ahmed presented an overview of the authority's organisational structure, statutory functions, progress in the e-GP system, ongoing projects, key challenges and future priorities.
The meeting was attended, among others, by State Minister for Planning and Senior Vice-Chair of the Governing Board Zonayed Saki MP, IMED Secretary and BPPA Vice-Chair Shirajun Noor Chowdhury, and other board members.
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