Despite having some challenges, efforts to involve citizens in public procurement at the field level need to continue, Planning Minister MA Mannan today said.

"Although citizen engagement in public procurement is a new concept, it has positive outcomes," said Mannan at the 16th meeting of the 36-member Public-Private Stakeholders' Committee (PPSC) on public procurement.

The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), the planning ministry organised the meeting at National Economic Council (NEC) conference room in Dhaka under its Digitising Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPPP).

The CPTU has been implementing the project with support from the World Bank.

State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam was present in the meeting chaired by IMED Secretary Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin, according to a statement of the CPTU.

Senior Secretary and Member (Socio Economic Infrastructure Division) of Planning Commission Mosammat Nasima Begum was also present in the meeting. Director of CPTU, Masud Akhter Khan moderated the programme.

Director General of CPTU Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury made a presentation on enhancement of electronic government procurement (e-GP) system and major milestone achievements in recent times.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute, appreciated the citizen portal initiative of CPTU to give information on public procurement to citizens.