Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that Bangladesh is in the safe zone in terms of receiving the foreign loans. He made the remarks while briefing reporters after the two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) on Thursday. Also read:Govt to consult with all on proposed universal pension scheme: Finance Minister Defending his remarks, he said Bangladesh’s debt-GDP ratio is 34 percent which is lowest in the world. Our foreign exchange reserves are much higher than requirement, remittance is increasing, export is growing, and inflation is under control. We’re in the safe zone”, he said. Kamal said the whole world is appreciating Bangladesh for its economic performances. He said the countries having debt higher than their GDP (gross domestic products) are currently in danger. “But we are not at that level. Rather, our debt is much lower than GDP,” he asserted. Responding to another question, the finance minister said the toll rates of the Padma Bridge have not been fixed yet. But a joint venture of South Korea and China has been awarded a contract to collect the tolls from the Padma Bridge project. Also read:NBR works for win-win tax in upcoming budget: Finance Minister “We didn’t do any detailed work on it. But we have a plan to make some profits by collecting revenue from the Padma Bridge project in order to implement more similar projects”, he said. He said both the government and the users of the Padma Bridge will benefit from the project. “We hope we could collect more revenue than the requirements to meet its expenditures”, he added.

The government has decided to extend the tenure of another gas-fired rental power plant by 4 more years. The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) in a meeting on Wednesday approved a proposal of state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) in this regard. Nine other proposals from entities under different ministries received the approval. Read:Cabinet body okays extension of deals with 4 rental power plants Four similar rental power plants’ contracts were extended by the same committee for different tenures last week. Purchase of electricity from grid-tied solar power plants to be set up by private firms, procurement of SPC poles for electricity expansion project, and purchase of fertiliser were among the proposals received approval in the CCPP's latest meeting . Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting while members of the committee attended it. As per the latest proposal placed by the Power Division, the BPDB’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with  private firm Venture Energy Resources Ltd. will extend for another 4 years to get electricity from the existing 40 MW gas-fired rental power plant in Bhola. For this purchase, the BPDB will have to spend Tk 380.90 crore during the extended contract period. However, the power tariff has been lowered to 3.3970 US cents (Tk 2.7176) from 3.49 US Cents (Tk 2.79) per kilowatt hour (each unit) which will save Tk 49.88 crore in next 4 years, said additional secretary of the Cabinet Division Shamsul Arefin while briefing about the outcomes of the CCPA meeting. A proposal of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) received the approval of the cabinet purchase committee to procure 32,400 SPC poles from the Joint Venture of (1) Caslte Construction Co. Ltd. and (2) Poles and Concrete Ltd. Dhaka at a cost of Tk 31.59 crore. The committee approved a BPDB proposal to purchase electricity from a 70 MW grid-tied solar power plant to be set up by the Consortium of (1) Daehan Green Energy Co. Ltd; (2) HI korea Co. Ltd and (3) Pabna Solar Power Ltd at Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district. Read: Transmission infra: The missing link in Bangladesh's power play The BPDB will purchase electricity from the plant at 10.15 US Cents (equivalent to Tk 8.12) per kilowatt hour for which will involve a cost of Tk 1,843.20 crore over the contract period of 20 years. Another proposal of the BPDB received approval for purchasing electricity from a 50 MW grid-tied solar power plant to be set up by the Consortium of (1) Total Eren S.A., France; (2) Norwegian Renewables Group AS, Norway and (3) Urban Services Ltd, Bangladesh. The BPDB will purchase electricity from the plant at the same rate of 10.15 US Cents (equivalent to Tk 8.12) per kilowatt hour over the contract period of 20 years involving a cost of Tk 1,315.20 crore. The committee approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to import 30,000 metric tons (MT) of bulk granular urea fertiliser from Distribution Limited, UAE at a cost of Tk 246.77 crore while another similar proposal of the same entity to import 30,000 MT of bulk fertiliser at Tk 246.77 from Muntajat of Qatar received the nod of the committee. The BCIC’s another proposal to import 25,000 MTS of rock phosphate from Gentrade, UAE, at Tk81.49 crore received the approval of the committee. The committee approved two separate proposals of the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) to import 40,000 MT of DAP fertiliser at Tk 309.06 crore and 30,000 MT of MOP fertiliser at Tk 152.92 crore. Each metric ton of DAP will cost at $900 and MOP at $593.75 considering US dollar rate at Tk 85.50.

Bangladesh Police received the final approval from the cabinet committee on public purchase (CCPP) to procure two Russian helicopters. The cabinet body at a meeting gave its nod to the proposal placed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting, attended by members of the cabinet committee. On October 6, the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) gave in principle its approval to the proposal. Read:Bangladesh Police to procure 2 Russian choppers As per the proposal, the Bangladesh Police Directorate will procure the Russian Mi-171A2 model helicopters from Russian firm JSC Russian Helicopters under a G2G contract at a cost of Euro 42.60 million, equivalent to Tk 428.12 crore. On February 10 this year, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Bangladesh Police and helicopter manufacturer JSC Russian Helicopters for the purchase of helicopters on a government-to-government (G2G) basis. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and Director General of Russian Helicopters AI Boginsky signed the deal through a video conference call. According to police headquarters, two advanced helicopters from Russia will be added to the Bangladesh Police fleet to enhance the efficiency and capability of the law enforcement force to ensure better public safety. The addition of helicopters will enable the police to conduct key operations and increase surveillance in remote and inaccessible areas. It will also help the police in their fight against militancy and terrorism. The cabinet purchase body also approved three proposals of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to import urea in bulk. Read:BGB to purchase 2 Russian helicopters As per the proposals, the BCIC will procure 30,000 metric tons (MT) of bagged granular urea from Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (Kafco) at a cost of Tk 185.85 crore while it will import another 30,000 MT of balk prilled urea from Muntajat, Qatar spending Tk 189.39 crore. Another 30,000 MT will be imported by the BCIC from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) at a cost of Tk 190.25 crore. Meanwhile, the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved in principle two proposals—one from Rajshahi Wasa under the LGRD Ministry and another from Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority under the ICT Ministry. As per the LGRD Ministry, the Rajshahi Wasa will appoint Joint Venture of (1) BRTC, BUET and (2) SMEC International Pty. Ltd. as consultant for its surface water treatment plant while the ICT Ministry will directly award contract to Bangladesh Diesel Plant Limited, an enterprise of Bangladesh Army, to construct 11 IT Training and Incubation centres in 11 districts.

The construction cost of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the Jamuna River is likely to go up by about Tk 3,216 crore as the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) has given conditional approval to award the contract to a Japanese firm.