The government on Wednesday approved separate proposals for procuring 80,000 mt of fertiliser, 1.20 crore liters of soybean oil, 50,000 mt of boiled rice and 12,500 mt of sugar to meet the growing demand for the country.
The approvals came from a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee meeting on Government Purchase at the Cabinet Division Conference Room at the Secretariat with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, the Finance Adviser said in the Purchase Committee meeting regular matters came up for discussions like the government has decided to import sugar as the holy month of Ramadan is approaching.
“We’ve also decided to import soybean oil although there isn’t exactly a shortage… the market is stable now,” he added.
Precautionary measures taken to ensure steady food supply: Salehuddin
The day’s meeting recommended approval of 9 procurement proposals involving several key ministries, including agriculture, commerce, industries, local government, and the Chief Adviser’s Office.
The committee also approved import of 40,000 metric tons of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertiliser under the 8th (optional–2nd) lot through a state-level agreement between OCP Nutricrops, Morocco and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) under the Ministry of Agriculture.
The total cost for this procurement stands at around Tk 348.42 crore, with a per-ton price of US$ 709.33.
The committee also recommended approval for the import of 40,000 metric tons of bulk granular urea fertiliser from SABIC Agri-nutrients Company, Saudi Arabia at a total cost of around Tk 195.43 crore, with a per-ton price of US$ 399.16.
Two major food-related procurements were endorsed.
These include the purchase of 12,500 metric tons of refined sugar at a total cost of Tk 78.26 crore (Tk 94.94 per kg) from Baygalata Danismanlik Hizmetleri A.S., Istanbul, and 1.20 crore liters of soybean oil from Credentone FZCO, Dubai, at a cost of Tk 158.87 crore (Tk 164.21 per liter).
In the food sector, the Food Ministry received approval to import 50,000 metric tons (+5%) of boiled rice under international tender for Tk 217.09 crore from M/S Agrocorp International Pte Ltd, Singapore, at a per-ton price of US$ 355.59.
The Local Government Division secured approval for infrastructure proposals including two road development packages under the Haor Region Elevated Road and Physical Infrastructure Development Project in Sunamganj district—one in Tahirpur upazila at Tk 180.64 crore and another in Dharmapasha upazila at Tk 190.90 crore.
The Road Transport and Highways Division received approval for a Tk 78.61 crore work package for the upgrading of the Chaturi (Chowmuhani)–CUFL–Karnaphuli Dry Dock–Fakirnirhat (N-121) Highway under the Chattogram South Road Division to be implemented by Taher Brothers Ltd as the responsive bidder.
Finally, under the Chief Adviser’s Office, the committee endorsed a proposal to procure consultancy services for the Bay Terminal Project under the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) from Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Company (IIFC) at a revised value of Tk 32.44 crore (including VAT and tax), up from the previously approved Tk 25.50 crore.