PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to introduce online system for all types of public procurement and award of contracts by its departments in next fiscal.

A statement issued here said that the decision was taken in a meeting held here with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair.

It said that KP Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (KPPRA) developed a new e-procurement system with all the required features for online procurement and award of government contracts.

The statement said that the provincial government had already introduced e-bidding and e-tendering system for contracts in works departments, however, procurement of goods and services was still being carried out in traditional way in government departments.

It said that with the implementation of the e-procurement system, the entire process of procurement including goods, services and awards of contracts for construction work would be carried out online.

The meeting decided that all the provincial government departments would be required to carry out all types of procurement under the new system from the beginning of next financial year. The e-procurement system will be extended to the autonomous bodies of the provincial government.

The chief minister on this occasion termed e-procurement system essential for ensuring maximum transparency in government contracts and procurement process.

He said that it would help to eliminate malpractices in the award of contracts and procurement process, and ultimately ensure quality of construction work.

The meeting was informed that new system covered all types and methods of procurements having features of online registration and dashboard facility for contractors, suppliers and consultants, online formation of procurement committees, online preparation of bid data sheet, creation of bid evaluation criteria, online availability of bidding documents, online submission of both technical and financial bids, online submission facility, online security submission, system-based award of contract to successful bidders and online registration of complaints.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2022