The Federation of Contractors Associations of Nepal (FCAN) has demanded that the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) resolve technical security issues and immediately restore the e-GP electronic procurement system, warning that the prolonged suspension has stalled public procurement and hit contractors hard.
FCAN Deputy General Secretary and spokesperson Mangal Bahadur Shahi said reverting to manual hard-copy processes is not a viable long-term solution. The e-GP system operates under the Public Procurement Act, 2063 and the Public Procurement Regulations, 2064, and its suspension since mid-September has forced public agencies back to paper-based bidding.
FCAN e-GP restoration demand lists five points
The federation presented a five-point demand to the PPMO. It calls for conducting an independent cybersecurity audit, addressing the identified security weaknesses, and strengthening access control, audit trails, and data protection mechanisms across the system.
“The security vulnerabilities within the system must be identified and resolved immediately to bring the e-GP back online,” Shahi said. He added that it is the PPMO’s responsibility to ensure the security of the e-GP system, and that instead of keeping it closed indefinitely over security risks, the office should prioritize the necessary upgrades and resume operations so that the work of contractors and public agencies is not affected.
FCAN emphasized that prompt restoration of the e-GP system is essential to maintain transparency, ensure fair competition in public procurement, and keep development projects moving.
Why the e-GP shutdown matters for contractors
The e-GP portal at bolpatra.gov.np is the single window through which most public construction tenders in Nepal are published and bid. Since its suspension, contracting authorities have fallen back on hard-copy sealed bids, a slower process that raises costs for bidders who must physically submit documents, often in Kathmandu or the project district.
For small and mid-size contractors outside the capital, the manual workaround is especially punishing. FCAN’s intervention signals that the industry’s patience with the outage is running out, and puts direct pressure on the PPMO to publish a restoration timeline.
Related reading: our Tender Watch tracks open public tenders daily at https://eve-construction.com/ (homepage Tender Watch panel).
Source: The Nepal All, “Construction federation demands immediate restoration of e-GP system” (https://nepalall.com/construction-federation-demands-immediate-restoration-of-e-gp-system/).