LAHORE: The Punjab government has rolled out an e-procurement system as part of its drive to strengthen transparency and digital governance, with all government departments directed to shift public procurement to the new online platform.

Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman issued the directions while chairing a meeting of administrative secretaries at the civil secretariat on Thursday.

He instructed all provincial departments to ensure effective implementation of the digital procurement system and accelerate the transition towards paperless governance.

Officials briefed the meeting that the e-procurement system had generated estimated savings of Rs70 billion for the provincial exchequer during the 2025-26 financial year by improving efficiency and promoting competitive bidding.

According to the briefing, more than 7,000 procuring agencies and 25,000 suppliers had so far been registered on the platform. In order to enhance transparency and verification, the system has been integrated with the databases of Nadra, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). An online bank transfer facility and 1-Link-based bid security payment mechanism have also been introduced to facilitate bidders.

The meeting was also informed that 420 government services were now available online through the province’s e-Biz Portal. Of more than 106,000 applications received through the portal, some 90,000 applications have already been processed, enabling citizens to access public services without visiting government offices.

The chief secretary directed all departments to identify their remaining manual services and integrate them into the e-Biz Portal without a delay. He said the government’s objective was to digitise all departmental services to improve service delivery, efficiency and public convenience. He said the Dastak App was also functioning actively to provide selected government services at citizens’ doorsteps.

The meeting also reviewed progress on the issuance of Green Property Certificates and assessed preparedness measures to address potential flooding during the ongoing monsoon season.

The meeting was attended by the additional chief secretary, board of revenue senior member, administrative secretaries of all provincial departments and director generals.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026