Cabinet approves Public Procurement amendment ordinance to protect local industry
Photo: Collected
The cabinet has given in-principle and final approval to the draft of the ‘Public Procurement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026’ with the aim of protecting the interests of local industry and increasing competition in government procurement.
The final approval of the ordinance was given at the 21st meeting of the cabinet held at the Secretariat in the capital today, Sunday, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in the chair. This was disclosed in a press release from the Cabinet Division.
The release said that through the amendment of the public procurement law, more competition will be created in procurement activities alongside protecting the interests of local industry. At the same time, the provisions relating to the administration and management of procurement contracts will be expanded and the procedure of the open tendering method will be modernised.
To widen the scope of the sustainable procurement system, a provision has been kept for evaluation based on the ratio of criteria in the procurement of goods, works and physical services. Under this method, synonymous with the internationally widely practised concept of ‘rated criteria’, procurement proposals will be evaluated on the basis of various criteria.
Besides, provisions have been kept for the application of the limited tendering method with the aim of balanced distribution of resources, clarification of the provisions relating to professional misconduct and an alternative procurement arrangement for urgent state needs.
The draft of the ‘Public Procurement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026’ was placed before the cabinet precisely to bring about these time-befitting changes.
The release further said the draft ordinance received final approval at the cabinet meeting subject to vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division.
Members of the cabinet and secretaries of the ministries concerned were present at the meeting.