Govt to procure three cargoes of LNG worth Tk1,350 crore from Singapore, Qatar

The Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement has approved the purchase of three cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from two companies in Singapore and Qatar.

Two cargoes of LNG will be purchased from Gunvor Singapore Pvt Ltd, and one cargo from QatarEnergy Trading LLC for a total of Tk1,350.24 crore.

Cabinet Division Secretary (Coordination and Reforms) Mahmudul Hossain Khan briefed journalists after the committee approved the Energy Division's proposal at a meeting chaired by Law Minister Anisul Huq at the Cabinet Division today (8 May).

Khan said LNG is being imported from the spot market. The price per unit (mmBtu) supplied by Gunvor will be $10.46, costing Tk452.41 crore per cargo. The price per unit of LNG supplied by QatarEnergy will be $10.30, costing Tk445.40 crore per cargo. Each cargo contains 33.60 lakh mmBtu of LNG.

Earlier on 25 April, the cabinet committee approved the purchase of two cargoes of LNG from Singapore, while purchases of another three cargoes from Singapore and Switzerland were approved on 3 April.

Edible oil and lentil purchases for TCB get approval 

Additionally, approval was granted for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to buy lentils, soybean oil, and rice bran oil locally through open and direct purchase methods, said the Cabinet Division secretary.

He said the committee approved the purchase of 22,000 tonnes of lentils, 1.20 crore litres of soybean oil, and 40 lakh litres of rice bran oil. The total cost will amount to Tk468.33 crore.

He said that of the lentils, Nabil Naba Foods Products Limited will supply 6,000 tonnes, Shabnam Vegetables 10,000 tonnes, M/s Salman Khurshid of Rajshahi 3,000 tonnes, and Sheikh Agro Food Industries of Khulna 3,000 tonnes in 50kg bags. The price will range from Tk101.40 to Tk104.70 per kg.

Additionally, Bashundhara Multi Food Products Limited will supply 1.20 crore litres of soybean oil at a rate of Tk152 per litre, while Majumdar Products Limited will supply 40 lakh litres of rice bran oil at a rate of Tk148.75 per litre.

Approval for fertiliser imports  

The committee approved the purchase of 90,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia at a total cost of Tk282 crore for the current financial year through state contracts.  

Mahmudul Hossain Khan said the proposal to import 30,000 tonnes of bunk granular urea fertiliser from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited of the UAE has been approved for the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC). The total cost will be Tk93.77 crore at a rate of $284.17 per tonne.

The proposal to import 30,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser from Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company has also been approved. The total cost will be Tk93.22 crore at a rate of $282.50 per tonne.

In addition, another 30,000 tonnes will come from Saudi Arabia's SABIC Agri-Nutrients, costing Tk95.14 crore at a rate of $288.33 per tonne.