A Transparency International Bangladesh study has found that the top 5 per cent of contractors working under the top 10 ministries secured 61.31 per cent of the total contract value awarded through the e-government procurement system over the past 12 years.
The findings were revealed at a press conference organised by the TIB, a non-governmental corruption watchdog, at its office in Dhaka city on Tuesday.
The study has found that a tripartite collusion between the bureaucracy, contractors and political forces took control of the public procurement market.
Influential groups of contractors were exploiting legal loopholes to engage in unethical practices, obstructing fair competition, the study report observes.
鈥楶ublic procurement is one of the most corruption-prone sectors globally.聽 However, in Bangladesh, it has been taken hostage by an unchecked syndicate,鈥� TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said at the press conference.
He said that in another study conducted in 2018 they found corruption and irregularities in institutional procurement leading to a waste of up to 27 per cent of the total procurement budget.
It was expected that the introduction of the e-GP system would reduce such losses, ensure open competition, minimise corruption in public procurement, and maximise the benefits of public spending, he added.
The TIB study titled 鈥楨-procurement in Bangladesh: market concentration, collusion, and political influence鈥�, whose findings were revealed on Tuesday, examined procurement data from 2012 to 2024.
鈥楿nfortunately, while digitalisation through e-GP has been implemented, corruption has not been controlled, fair competition has not been ensured, and instead, the electronic procurement system itself has been monopolised by the tripartite collusion of bureaucracy, contractors and political forces, further institutionalising their control over the public procurement market,鈥� Iftekharuzzaman said.
The corruption watchdog highlighted that between 2012 and 2024, the top 10 ministries collectively spent over Tk 5 lakh crore on public procurement.
It also said that while leadership changes at the ministerial or government agencies sometimes led to the transfer of major contracts, market control remained unchanged.
Since the introduction of e-GP in 2011, Bangladesh has spent Tk 5,96,921 crore through the platform, said the study.
The highest recorded contract value awarded via this system stands at Tk 881 crore, while contracts exceeding this amount remain outside the e-GP platform.
Of the total e-GP contract value, the top 10 ministries account for 91.72 per cent or Tk 540,950 crore.
Within these ministries, the top 5 per cent of contractors secured 61.31 per cent of the contract value, while the bottom 10 per cent held less than 1 per cent of the contract value across all ministries.
The Road Transport and Highways Division and the Ministry of Education both saw increases of 10 per cent.
In the Road Transport and Highways Division, 11 per cent of contractors controlled 93.55 per cent of the total contract value, with just 35 contractors (1%) holding a 72.9 per cent market share.
The study identified nine major contractor networks operating within the division.
Similarly, in the Ministry of Water Resources, 9 per cent of contractors control 91.5 per cent of the total contract value. The ministry has nine active contractor clusters.
In the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, 7.45 per cent of contractors hold 71 per cent of the market share, while 81 contractors control 32.32 per cent.
The Local Government Division also exhibits high market concentration, with 9.74 per cent of contractors controlling 62.88 per cent of procurement contracts.
In this division, 294 contractors (1%) hold 27.7 per cent of the market. The study detected 12 major contractor communities in both the Local Government Division and the Ministry of Education.
The study mentioned that leading contractors consistently secured contracts by forming joint ventures, amplifying their market influence beyond what is publicly recorded.
Additionally, these powerful contractors, apart from monopolising the market, also exploited regulatory loopholes by forming joint ventures to secure contracts, further restricting fair competition and deepening their dominance, said the TIB.
The TIB executive director said, 鈥榃hether this situation persists in a post-authoritarian political and bureaucratic landscape will depend on timely reforms in relevant laws, regulations and the e-GP process.鈥�
The watchdog recommended that the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority should closely monitor joint venture entities to prevent collusive market control.
It has called for stronger regulations and transparency measures to prevent market monopolisation and ensure fair competition in government procurement.
