Building on successful implementation of the Public Procurement Reform Project-II, the government of Bangladesh has taken up another project titled, “Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPPP)” in order to maintain continuity of the achievements and make public procurement sustainable in line with specific SDGs target.

The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Planning, has been implementing the DIMAPPP with support from World Bank since July 2017. The project effectiveness date is August 10, 2017.

DIMAPPP at glance

Implementer	Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU)
Technical and Financial Assistance	IDA, World Bank
Implementation Period	July 2017-June 2022
Total project outlay	$60 million
IDA Credit	$55 million
GoB Contribution	$5 million

 

On August 29,  2017 at 03:00 pm a Financing Agreement of US$ 55 million was signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group at the NEC-II Conference Room of Economic Relations Division (ERD) to implement the five-year (July 2017-June 2022).

Kazi Shofiqul Azam, Secretary, ERD and Mr. Qimiao Fan, Country Director of the World Bank signed the Agreement on behalf of their respective sides. Senior officials of the Government and the World Bank were present at the ceremony.

The overall objective of the DIMAPPP is to improve public procurement performance and enhance capacity for implementation monitoring of development projects/programs. The DIMAPPP has four components:

1.            Restructuring CPTU and Institutionalizing e-GP (US$9 million): This component aims to restructure the CPTU to enhance its regulatory power and institutionalize e-GP to function as a service provider with professional resources.

2.            Enhancing Digitization of Public Procurement (US$28 million): This component aims to enhance the scope of e-GP for all public-sector organizations across the country, with specific focus on the 28 newly selected public sector organizations (NSPSOs), covering about 3,000 procuring entities, followed by 4 previously selected PSOs (PSPSOs). Of those NSPSOs, Local Government Institutions (LGIs) under the Local Government Division alone comprises 888 procuring entities. Other activities include enhancement of the e-GP system with advanced features like robust contract management process, geo-tagging, international bidding, business modeling, national tenderers’ database.

 

3.            Professionalization Procurement and Citizen Engagement (US$18 million): This component aims to improve procurement management capacity of the 32 selected PSOs (SPSOs) and capacity of the tenderer community, and enhance citizen monitoring.

4.            Digitizing Project Implementation Monitoring (US$5 million): The component aims to strengthen implementation monitoring of development programs/projects at national level using digital technology.

 

The GoB has received the loan for implementing DIMAPPP in standard terms and conditions of IDA, which includes 0.75% service charge on disbursed amount. The repayment period of the loan is 38 years including 6 years grace period. Commitment Fee is 0.50% on un-disbursed amount but World Bank has kept commitment fees suspended for several years. Through implementing this project one more milestone will be achieved in building ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by expediting and ensuring transparency and accountability in public procurement process.