United News of Bangladesh

The Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) on Tuesday cancelled the tender for appointing an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor for the Single Point Mooring (SPM) project. The committee approved the cancellation when Energy and Mineral Resources Division placed the proposal at the meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed at the Secretariat. Earlier, on November 21, 2024, the government had approved in principle the appointment of China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company Ltd (CPPEC) as the O&M contractor on a government-to-government (G2G) basis. The approval was given in a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs (ACCEA) . The CPPEC had been working as the contractor for the SPM project and BPC selected the firm for the O&M job without any competitive bidding process. Finance Adviser denies ‘special advantage’ in fertiliser imports The proposal was moved to ACCEA by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010. But a few days after the approval, the government repealed the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010 on 1 December following an order from the High Court that removed the scope for signing the contract with the Chinese firm. The SPM, built on 90 acres of land in Maheshkhali Upazila, Cox's Bazar, is a government-to-government (G2G) initiative between Bangladesh and China, completed at a cost of Tk8,341 crore. The state-owned BPC undertook the project to streamline the offloading of petroleum products and their transportation via pipeline. The facility features a 36-inch-wide pipeline that transports crude oil from the mooring point to storage tanks at Kalamarchara in Matarbari. From there, the oil is moved 220 kilometres to the Eastern Refinery in Patenga, Chittagong, via an 18-inch-wide pipeline. The entire 110-km pipeline connects the deep-sea mooring point to the refinery.

The Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) on Tuesday recommended approval of a proposal for repair works at the Bibiyana South 400 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant under the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed presided over the meeting held at the Secretariat. According to the Power Division’s proposal, the repair works will cost Tk 901.85 crore. The contract will be implemented by the consortium of Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, and Siemens Energy Bangladesh Limited. The Power Division is the sponsoring ministry while BPDB will execute the project. The Bibiyana South 400 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant is a gas-fired power project in Sylhet, Bangladesh, that commenced commercial operation in 2023. It is also referred to as the Bibiyana-III project and was developed by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). The project is designed to operate as a combined-cycle power plant using natural gas as its fuel source.  The meeting also approved two separate proposals for the import of a total 75,000 metric tons of Muriate of Potash (MOP) fertiliser under state-level agreements with Russia and Canada. ACC to probe irregularities at Rampal thermal power plant According to the proposals, 35,000 (±10%) metric tons of MOP fertiliser will be imported from Russia’s JSC “Foreign Economic Corporation (Prodintorg)” under the third lot of an existing agreement with the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC). The procurement will cost Tk 154.90 crore with each metric ton priced at US$361. Another 40,000 (±10%) metric tons of MOP fertilizer will be imported from Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) under the seventh lot of a state-level contract with BADC. The total cost has been estimated at Tk 177.03 crore, with the same unit price of US$361 per metric ton. Both proposals, placed by the Ministry of Agriculture with BADC as the implementing agency, were recommended for approval by the committee. It approved a proposal to import one cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the spot market under the Public Procurement Rules, 2008. According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the LNG cargo—scheduled for delivery between November 25 and 26, 2025 (47th cargo)—will be procured from M/S Aramco Trading Singapore Pte Ltd. at a cost of Tk 499.16 crore. The unit price has been set at US$11.88 per MMBtu, the proposal noted. The purchase committee also approved two separate proposals for the construction of nine new power substations under the project titled “Modernization and Capacity Enhancement of BPDB’s Power Distribution System (Khulna Division) (Special Revised)”. Under package no. MCEP/BREB/KD-W-11, four new 33/11 kV (10/14 MVA) GIS-type substations will be built at a cost of Tk 104.67 crore. The work has been awarded to TSTL-EEL Consortium (TS Transformers Limited – Energypac Engineering Ltd.). Similarly, under package no. MCEP/BREB/KD-W-3, five new 33/11 kV (10/14 MVA) GIS-type substations will be constructed at a cost of Tk 151.04 crore. The contract has been awarded to Reverie Power & Automation Engineering Ltd. Both proposals, placed by the Power Division with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) as the implementing agency, were recommended by the committee for final approval. Meanwhile, a proposal for the construction work under the project “Construction of Elevated Road and Physical Infrastructure Development in Haor Areas”, being implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), was withdrawn from the agenda of the meeting. The proposal involved work in Dharmapasha upazila of Sunamganj district.

The government on Tuesday approved several procurement proposals including one for importing a cargo of LNG and another for procuring 30,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer. The approvals came from a meeting of Advisers  Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) held at the Bangladesh Secretariat with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. As per a proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, Petrobangla will import one cargo of LNG from the spot market through the international quotation method. Purchase body approves proposals to procure rice bran oil, LNG cargo The LNG will be supplied by Vitol Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, at a total cost of approximately Tk 531.56 crore with per MMBtu at $12.62. Besides, responding to a proposal from the Ministry of Industries, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will procure 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertiliser under the 18th lot from KAFCO, Bangladesh. The total cost is estimated at Tk 146.53 crore with each ton priced at $397.75. The day’s meeting approved two proposals from the Power Division along with one each from the Road Transport and Highways Division and the Local Government Division.

The government has not yet made any decision regarding the allocation of dearness allowance (DA) for its officials and employees, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday. "We have not made any decision regarding the dearness allowance yet," he told journalists in response to questions about the ongoing deliberations, after a meeting of the Advisors' Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) at the Secretariat. When asked whether the government was reconsidering its stance on the DA, the finance adviser asked, "Who made the announcement about the dearness allowance? I don’t know who made the announcement. Once it comes to the Ministry of Finance, then we will decide whether to give it or not, and only then will we make the announcement." Make NBR more efficient for robust growth in business: Finance Adviser Sought comments on whether a proposal has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, Dr Salehuddin said, "We haven’t made any announcement yet. I have not made any decision yet." The Finance Ministry had recently prepared a draft proposal to provide a Dearness Allowance ranging from a minimum of 10% to a maximum of 20% of basic salaries for 1.45 million government employees. The proposal also included the recommendation to exclude the additional 5% annual increment for employees. According to the Finance Ministry’s calculations, implementing the DA would cost at least Tk 5,000 crore in a single fiscal year. Finance Adviser urges media to take positive stance on national issues To lower the expenditure, the proposal suggested giving a maximum of 20% DA to employees in grades 11 to 20, while those in grades 1 to 10 would receive either 10% or 15%. Should the DA for grades 1 to 10 be set at 10%, it would require over Tk 5,000 crore. If it were set at 15%, the cost would rise slightly to about TK 5,750 crore. The Finance Ministry has proposed to include this amount in the revised budget.

The government will import rice and LNG to meet the demands of the domestic market, it's been decided. The Advisors Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP), in a meeting with Finance Advisor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair, approved two separate proposals in this regard. As per a proposal, moved by the Ministry of Food, the Food Directorate will import 50,000 Metric Tons (MT) of non-basmati parboiled rice from India through an international open tender. Bagadiya Brothers Limited of India will supply the bulk rice at a cost of Tk 275.30 crore, with each kg at Tk 55.06. Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Minerals Corporation-Petrobangla will import one cargo of LNG from the international spot market through quotation. Excelerate Energy PLC of United States will supply the LNG cargo at a cost of Tk 752.50 crore, with each MMBtu at $15.69. After the meeting, Finance Advisor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters that the government will not bring any change in the duty structure of essential commodities until the end of the upcoming month of holy Ramadan which is expected to begin from March 1. No change in duties until Ramadan ends: Finance Adviser Responding to a question on ensuring adequate supply of essential commodities at affordable price during the Ramadan, the advisor said that the government had already imported chickpeas, lentils, and dates. The price of Soybean oil has come to a reasonable level. “If necessary, the government will take further measures in regard to the price of soybean oil”, he said. He said that the government has been giving priority on market monitoring. “The market monitoring has to be intensified. Only application of Consumer Protection Act is not enough to contain the prices”. He mentioned that the price of onion has already come down to Tk 40 per kg from Tk 200. In our country, prices of goods frequently go up and down while prices remain stable in developed countries.