International & National Tender Support

What it covers

A submission an evaluation committee can check line by line

Estimation and rate analysis Rates built from measured quantities, current prices and real productivity, so the basis of any figure can be shown on request.

Bill of quantities Every item priced in the format the notice demands. Nothing left blank, because an unpriced item is treated as covered and goes unpaid.

Specification compliance A clause by clause response, with the product data and method that satisfies each requirement.

Submission and follow-through Assembly, e-GP upload or hard copy lodgement, then clarification responses that answer without altering substance or price.

Internationally financed work

Three financiers, three different ways of judging a bid

A submission assembled for one rulebook scores badly under another. Knowing which one applies is the first question we answer on any notice.

JICA Our focus Japanese ODA loans Award goes to Lowest evaluated responsive bid Scoring price against technical merit is not accepted in principle. The technical stage is a pass or fail gate, then the lowest evaluated cost among those that pass takes the contract. Guidelines for Procurement under Japanese ODA Loans, October 2023

World Bank IPF borrowers Award goes to Highest ranked bid Rated criteria apply to most international competitive procurement, with the technical weighting set by the risk and value of the package. The most advantageous bid wins, not the cheapest. Procurement Regulations, seventh edition, September 2025

ADB Internationally advertised works Award goes to Highest ranked bid Merit point criteria became mandatory for internationally advertised works from January 2026, reversing the previous lowest evaluated cost default. Method statement, personnel, equipment and safety all carry points. Procurement Directive for ADB Borrowers, effective 1 January 2026

About this service

How the desk works

The three largest development financiers working in Bangladesh no longer judge a works bid the same way. Under JICA's Guidelines for Procurement under Japanese ODA Loans the contract goes to the lowest evaluated responsive bid, and a merit point system is not accepted in principle. The World Bank now requires rated criteria on most international competitive procurement, where the winner is the highest ranked bid rather than the cheapest. The Asian Development Bank went the same way for internationally advertised works from January 2026. A submission assembled for one of those rulebooks will score badly under another.

Our focus is the Japanese ODA loan package. Those works are tendered on JICA's own Standard Bidding Document for Works, normally single stage two envelope: the technical bid and the price bid are submitted together, the technical envelope is opened and assessed first, and only technically conforming bidders have their prices opened. We prepare both envelopes, keeping every price out of the technical one, because a price disclosed in the wrong envelope is a self inflicted disqualification.

That work is exacting in a particular way. The bid forms may not be altered and no blank may be left. Four documents are fatal if missing: the Letter of Technical Bid, the power of attorney, the bid security and the technical proposal. A specialised subcontractor named in the bid cannot be swapped after the deadline, and if that subcontractor fails the key activity test the bidder is disqualified, not just the subcontractor. Qualification is not compensatory either, so a strong experience record will not rescue a shortfall in financial capacity.

Domestically we work inside the Public Procurement Act 2006 and the Public Procurement Rules 2025, which replaced the 2008 rules in September 2025, submitting through e-GP under the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority. Where a project is financed by a development partner, the financing agreement governs and the procuring entity issues a development partner variant of the standard tender document that names the financier and applies its anticorruption guidelines and sanctions. Knowing which of those frames applies is the first question we answer on any notice.

Consultation

Before you commit to bidding

Most of the value sits before the work starts. A tender you should not enter is worth knowing about on day one, not in week three.

Go or no-go assessment

Which rulebook governs the notice, what the award actually turns on, and whether the package suits the firm at all.

Eligibility screen

Eligible source countries under the loan agreement, debarment and conflict of interest, and the one bid per bidder rule.

Qualification gap analysis

Each financial and experience criterion tested against the firm's real position. Qualification is not compensatory, so a gap in one area is not offset by strength elsewhere.

Joint venture strategy

Which criteria a joint venture can meet by summation, which the lead partner must carry alone, and what the agreement has to say.

Deadline feasibility

The advertised window against bank lead time for the bid security, site visit dates and the clarification cut-off. We say plainly if it is not enough.

Bonding and security capacity

The likely bid security, its validity tail, acceptable instruments and whether the firm's banking arrangements can carry it.

Work scope

What the work covers, phase by phase

A bid goes through five phases. Choose one to see what the desk does at that point.

Phase 1 of 5

Read and decide

Before any cost is spent, the notice is read against the firm.

Tender document study and compliance matrix

The instructions to bidders, conditions of contract and evaluation criteria read into a clause by clause checklist, so every required document, declaration and specification response is tracked to submission.

Eligibility and qualification gap analysis

Eligible source countries, debarment and conflict of interest checks, then each financial and experience criterion tested against the firm's actual position before any decision to bid.

Bangladesh

Submission under e-GP and on foreign aided projects

Domestic depth alongside the international work. Both routes run through this desk.

Government tenders through e-GP Every public works tender in Bangladesh is advertised and submitted through e-GP under the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority. We work inside the Public Procurement Act 2006 and the Public Procurement Rules 2025, which replaced the 2008 rules in September 2025. Registration is annual, the portal accepts no late submission and permits no withdrawal once the deadline passes, so the upload is planned rather than left to the last hour.

Foreign aided projects Where a project is financed by a development partner, the financing agreement governs the procurement and the procuring entity issues a development partner variant of the standard tender document. That version names the financier, applies its anticorruption guidelines and sanctions regime, and makes payment subject to the financing agreement. A large ICB package may sit outside the national e-GP workflow entirely and run on the financier's own bidding document.

Open tendering above five crore Works above five crore taka go to open tendering, which any registered tenderer meeting the qualification criteria may enter. Qualification turns on measurable things: liquid asset cover, assessed tender capacity against the estimated cost, named personnel with the required years, and equipment access. We model those before the decision to bid.

Limited tendering and enlistment Works up to five crore taka run under the limited tendering method, open only to contractors holding current enlistment with that procuring entity. Enlistment is held per office and renewed each financial year, and the letter of enlistment goes in with the tender.

Questions

Popular questions

What is different about a JICA funded tender?

Projects financed by Japanese ODA loans are procured under JICA's own guidelines rather than the domestic rules alone, using JICA's Standard Bidding Document for Works. The bid is normally single stage two envelope, the eligible source countries come from the loan agreement rather than a universal list, the working language and currency are set by the loan, and domestic preference is prohibited. Importantly, the award goes to the lowest evaluated responsive bid; JICA does not in principle accept scoring price against technical merit.

Is the lowest price still the winning bid?

It depends on who is financing. Under JICA, and under the Bangladesh rules, the award goes to the lowest evaluated responsive tender, which is not the same as the lowest price because adjustments and non-price factors are brought into the comparison in money terms. Under the World Bank's current regulations and under the ADB directive that took effect in January 2026, most internationally advertised works are scored on rated or merit point criteria and the highest ranked bid wins. On those, the written technical submission can carry more weight than the price.

Do we need to be enlisted before we can bid?

Registration on e-GP is required for any government tender in Bangladesh and is renewed annually. Enlistment is a separate thing: each procuring entity keeps its own list, renewed each financial year, and that list governs who may be invited under the limited tendering method, which covers works up to five crore taka. Above that threshold an open tender is open to any registered tenderer who meets the qualification criteria, enlisted or not. Donor financed tenders set eligibility in the tender document itself.

How early do you need the tender documents?

As soon as the notice is published. Quantity take-off and rate analysis are the slowest parts of the work, and a compliance matrix is only useful if it is built before the clarification deadline passes. JICA sets a minimum bid preparation period of forty five days for international bidding and ninety days where large civil works are involved, but the bank lead time for a bid security and the assembly of qualification evidence eat into that quickly. We say plainly at the outset whether the remaining time is enough to submit properly.

What is a bill of quantities and why does it matter?

It is an itemised schedule of every piece of work, each with its measured quantity and unit, so that every bidder prices the same scope on the same basis. It also becomes the basis for interim payment once work starts, so an error follows the contract to the final account. On a JICA bid an unpriced item is treated as covered by other rates and is not paid separately, and for comparison the average price quoted by other bidders is added to that bid.

Can you guarantee we will be awarded the contract?

No, and anyone who says otherwise should be treated with suspicion. The award is made by the executing agency with the financier's concurrence, against published criteria. Under JICA rules price negotiation after bidding is not allowed. What we can do is make sure the submission is responsive, complete and competitive, so that it is judged on its merits rather than rejected on a technicality.

Start a conversation

Have a notice closing soon?

Send the tender document and the drawings. We will tell you which rulebook governs it, what qualification it demands, and whether the deadline is realistic.

JICA, World Bank and ADB bidding documents
e-GP submissions under PPR 2025
A go or no-go view before you spend

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+880 1672-914871 contact@msalifconstruction.com