PPRA Trains Over 10,000 Professionals in e-Procurement, Regulatory Frameworks

Aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision for a Digital Pakistan, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), Pakistan, has successfully trained over 10,000 professionals on the PPRA e-procurement system and regulatory framework. This was disclosed by Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi, Managing Director PPRA, while speaking at the opening ceremony of a comprehensive capacity-building initiative on public procurement and contract management. Under this initiative, PPRA, in collaboration with NUST Professional Development Centre (PDC) has launched the second batch of its professional diploma, a comprehensive 4-month training program at the NUST campus in Islamabad. More than 70 participants, including government officials, private sector experts, vendors and suppliers, business entities, and development practitioners, are attending the course. The diploma program is divided into different modules including fundamentals of effective and transparent public procurement, legal and regulatory framework, maximizing procurement efficiency, strategic selection framework, smart and fair selection, the path to justice in public procurement, contract management, international standards for contract, e-procurement through e-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System (EPADS), international donner funded procurement and an overview of public-private partnership models. Speaking at the occasion, Hasnat Qureshi informed that, following the directives of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, procurement cells have already been established in government institutions. Officials deployed in these cells are being assured of comprehensive training in e-PADS and PPRA regulations so that they may fulfil their responsibilities under the principles of competence and transparency. “To meet the market need, PPRA is expanding its nationwide training program to build professional expertise at every stage of the procurement process,” he added. Qureshi urged the stakeholders, including public sector institutions, to actively participate in the PPRA’s capacity-building efforts to equip professionals with the skills to plan, execute, and manage public procurement and contracting processes aligned with the legal framework, ethical standards, and international best practices. He further said that PPRA has successfully implemented an e-procurement platform—a backbone of e-governance that brings 10-25 percent savings in government expenditure. “The system promotes transparency, cost effectiveness, competitiveness, time reduction, ease of doing business and a reduced carbon footprint,” he remarked. He highlighted that more than 28,000 suppliers, including 400 foreign companies, are already registered on the e-procurement platform. He further told that about 700 federal, 5000 Punjab, and 200 Sindh-based public procurement agencies are actively utilizing this system. Senior officials from PPRA, a procurement expert Ali Raza Hanjra, a senior official from the Federal Board and General Manager PDC NUST Muhammad Ali were also present at the event.