The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) have agreed to strengthen cooperation and deploy artificial intelligence tools to identify and prevent collusive practices in public procurement.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a meeting between CCP Chairman Farid Ahmad Tarar and PPRA Managing Director Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi at PPRA Headquarters in Islamabad. The meeting was also attended by CCP Director General Dr. Ikram ul Haq and senior officials from both organizations.
During the briefing, PPRA highlighted reforms implemented under the government’s Digital Pakistan vision, including institutional restructuring, regulatory improvements, capacity-building initiatives, and the rollout of the E-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System (EPADS). Officials noted that EPADS is now fully operational across the federal government and the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
PPRA officials stated that the digitization of procurement processes has improved transparency, accountability, and efficiency while creating opportunities to detect and curb anti-competitive behavior. They emphasized the importance of structured data sharing to support CCP’s analytical capabilities.
Chairman CCP praised the implementation of EPADS and outlined the Commission’s newly developed AI-based bid-rigging detection system. The technology uses historical procurement data and advanced analytics to identify suspicious bidding patterns, generate predictive risk indicators, and support centralized monitoring of procurement activities.
According to CCP, the initiative marks a shift from a reactive enforcement model to a proactive, data-driven approach aimed at identifying potential anti-competitive practices before they cause significant harm to public procurement outcomes.
Both organizations reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing institutional coordination under their existing memorandum of understanding, with a focus on data integration, joint analysis, and AI-powered monitoring tools to safeguard public resources and improve procurement transparency.
