Govt to procure 33.60 lakh MMBtu LNG to meet growing demand

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase yesterday approved separate proposals for procuring 33.60 lakh MMBtu LNG and 70,000 tonnes of fertiliser to meet the growing demand.

The approvals came from the 11th meeting of the cabinet committee held on Thursday virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting virtually, Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan said that a total of seven proposals were approved in the meeting yesterday.

He said that following a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) would procure some 40,000 tonnes of DAP fertiliser from OCP, SA, Morocco under state-level agreement with around Tk262.13 crore where per tonne fertiliser would cost $610 against the previous price of $710.

Mahbub said that in response to another proposal from the Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) would procure some 30,000 tonnes of bagged granular fertiliser under the 14th lot from KAFCO, Bangladesh with around Tk105.43 crore with per tonne fertiliser costing $327.62 down from the previous price of $330.62.

He said that the CCGP meeting approved a proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under which the Petrobangla would procure some 33.60 lakh MMBtu LNG from M/S Excelerate Energy LP, United States with around Tk578.65 crore with per MMBtu LNG costing $13.69 against the previous price of $14.66.

The cabinet division additional secretary said that the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) under the Ministry of Commerce would procure some 8,000 tonnes of lentil from Uma Expo Pvt Ltd India (local agent: Future Infrastructure Development Ltd Dhaka) with around Tk72.91 crore with per KG lentil costing Tk91.14.

He informed that following a proposal from the Internal Resources Division (IRD), the National Board of Revenue (NBR) would procure the Software Solution and Automated Risk Management System software from Webb Fontaine Group, Fz-LLC, Dubai, the UAE with around Tk217.99 crore.

Besides, Mahbub said that the CCGP meeting decided to appoint the joint venture of SMEC, Australia, OCG, Japan, Dohwa Engineering Company Korea, ACE, Bangladesh and DDC, Bangladesh as the consultants for the "Technical Assistance for Road Transport Connectivity Improvement Project Preparatory Facility" with around Tk44.42 crore under the Road Transport and Highways Division.

The meeting also approved a cost variation proposal from the Road Transport and Highways Division.