The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Wednesday approved procurement proposals worth more than Tk 704.7 crore including the import of urea fertiliser and sulphur for the country's agricultural and industrial needs.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the committee atSecretariat with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair.

Import of 40,000 metric tonnes of urea fertiliser through the Direct Procurement Method (DPM) at a cost of Tk 348.56 crore was among the proposals.

The proposal submitted by the Ministry of Industries involves the purchase of urea from UAE-based Delta Star Trading FZ-LLC through its local agent Ibedita Trading, Dhaka.

The per-metric-tonne price has been fixed at US$707.01.

The committee also recommended approval of another fertiliser import proposal under a government-to-government arrangement.

Under the proposal, 25,000 metric tonnes of bulk granular urea will be imported from Saudi Arabia's SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company .

The Ministry of Industries estimated the procurement cost at Tk 185.13 crore, with the fertiliser to be supplied at a price of US$600.83 per metric tonne.

The committee approved another proposal for importing 15,000 metric tonnes of rock sulphur/bright yellow sulphur for TSP Complex Limited (TSPCL) at a cost of Tk 171.01 crore.

The proposal was also submitted by the Ministry of Industries, with Seychelles-based M/s Fabsco Construction Limited selected as the supplier.

According to the proposal, the sulphur may be sourced from a range of internationally recognised producers and refiners, including Formosa Petrochemical Corporation of Taiwan, Turkmengas of Turkmenistan, Mongstad Refinery of Norway, ADNOC of the UAE, Duqm Refinery of Oman, SOMO of Iraq and Reliance Industries of India, among others.