Splitting big packages for tendering to be restricted

To check fraudulent practices and scams, the government is set to restrict project implementing agencies from splitting a big public procurement package into small parts for tendering, officials said on Monday.

It is also going to restrict the line ministry's power to approve small packages and recommend getting approval from the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, they said.

If the public sector procuring entity splits a package into small parts, their estimated prices would have to be aggregated, and the sum would be treated as that of one package for getting the cabinet committee's approval, Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) officials said.

Some ministries and agencies usually split their procurement packages into small parts to allow their favourite contractors to participate in tendering and secure work orders, they also said.

The project director or head of procuring entity or minister can approve bidding packages involving a certain amount of money.

Currently, the project director can approve up to Tk 100 million worth of procurement packages for goods and works.

Besides, the head of procuring entity can endorse a bid price of up to Tk 200 million, and the minister can approve a package of Tk 1.0 billion for tender.

Now BPPA has encouraged procuring entities not to split big packages, its officials said, referring to the draft of the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) amendment.

The BPPA has made a move to amend the PPR 2008 under the Public Procurement Act (PPA) to streamline public procurement by enshrining governance and accountability.

If the procuring entity splits a package for any reason, the aggregate price of the parts would be treated as that of one package, and approval has to be taken from the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, the proposed amendment says.

A senior BPPA official said they had tried to establish checks and balances in public procurement so that public funds are not misused.

There are widespread allegations that project directors and procuring entities try to favour some of their contractors in bidding to secure works, depriving qualified bidders.

A former director general of the Central Procurement and Technical Unit (CPTU), currently known as BPPA, told The Financial Express this is a good initiative as the proposed amendment to clause 17 in the PPR would check fraudulent practices and the misappropriation of public funds.

Suhelur Rahman Chowdhury, another former director general of CPTU, said the amendment has been proposed to ensure transparency and accountability in public procurement.

The ministries and agencies procure goods/works/services under their development budgets, especially the annual development programme (ADP).

For FY26, the government allocated Tk 2.26 billion for ADP, where some 1,468 ongoing projects have been included.

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