Govt to procure 65,000 MT fertiliser

The government today approved separate proposals for procuring some 65,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, as well as for the construction of a 10,000 MT capacity buffer godown in Bhola, to meet the country's growing demand.

The approvals came from the 33rd meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase this year, held today. Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed presided over the meeting virtually.

Following two separate proposals from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will procure 25,000 metric tonnes of TSP fertiliser under the 3rd lot of a state-level agreement with Tunisia from Groupe Chimique Tunisien at a cost of around Tk184.66 crore, with each tonne priced at $602.50.

In addition, the BADC will procure 40,000 metric tonnes of DAP fertiliser under the 3rd lot of a state-level agreement with Morocco from OCP, NUTRICROPS, Morocco, at a cost of around Tk383.16 crore, where each tonne will cost $781.33.

Based on a proposal from the Ministry of Food, the government approved the construction of a buffer godown in Bhola with a capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes. The work will be carried out by M/S MBL-REL (JV), Dhaka, at a cost of around Tk49.49 crore, under the 1st revised project for constructing 34 buffer godowns across the country to facilitate fertiliser preservation and distribution.

Following a proposal from the Power Division, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will procure GT-2 maintenance work for the Shahjibazar 330 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant from SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Company Ltd, China, at a cost of around Tk111.18 crore.

The meeting also approved another proposal from the Secondary and Higher Education Division for the printing, binding, and supply of some 3,62,91,207 textbooks, in 94 lots, for classes 4 and 5 for the academic year 2026.