United News of Bangladesh

The government on Wednesday approved separate proposals to procure around 30,000 metric tonnes of urea fertiliser and over 2.71 crore litres of refined soybean oil to meet the country’s growing demand. The approvals came from a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at the Cabinet Division Conference Room at the Secretariat with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. Following a proposal from the Ministry of Commerce, the committee recommended procuring over 2.71 crore litres of refined soybean oil from the international market through the Direct Procurement Method (DPM) from NSRIC Green Supplies of Canada at a cost of around Tk 357 crore. The move aims to ensure adequate domestic supply and stabilise the edible oil market ahead of the Holy Month of Ramadan. The per-litre cost of soybean oil has been fixed at Tk 131.49. The meeting also approved a proposal from the Ministry of Industries to import 30,000 metric tonnes of bagged granular urea fertiliser from Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company Limited (KAFCO) under the 11th lot for the current fiscal year 2025–26 at an estimated cost of Tk 149.17 crore. Under the consignment, the per-tonne cost of fertiliser will be USD 405.25. In addition to these major import proposals, the committee positively considered several other agenda items, including the construction of fertiliser buffer warehouses in Faridpur and Gaibandha, procurement of high-speed boats for the Bangladesh Coast Guard, and multiple road safety and road connectivity projects across different regions of the country. The meeting approved a procurement proposal for the construction of a fertiliser godown in Faridpur with a capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes at a cost of around Tk 48.45 crore under Package-2, Lot-3 of the project titled “Construction of 34 Buffer Warehouses at Different Locations Across the Country for Fertiliser Storage and Distribution (1st Revised)”. Another proposal for constructing a fertiliser godown in  Gaibandha, also with a 10,000-metric-tonne capacity, was approved at an estimated cost of Tk 47.35 crore under Package-4, Lot-4 of the same project. Besides, a procurement proposal for the purchase of two large high-speed boats for the Bangladesh Coast Guard under the revenue budget involving around Tk 89.50 crore, was also approved at the meeting. Moreover, three separate procurement proposals under the “Bangladesh Road Safety” programme were approved during the day’s meeting.