State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 27.5 million litres of Soybean oil from local suppliers for its Open Market Sale (OMS) programme.
Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved three separate proposals placed by the commerce ministry in this regard in a virtual meeting on Wednesday, according to UNB.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting while other members of the committee attended it virtually.
The move of the TCB, a subordinate body of the commerce ministry, which has been operating as a state-marketing agency to tame the rising price hike of essentials, is part of the government's plan to procure some essential commodities in bulk and sell those through the OMS programme.
As per the commerce ministry's proposals, the TCB will procure the entire edible oils through three open tenders.
Under the proposals, some 11.0 million litres of soybean oil will be procured from privately-owned City Edible Oil Limited at a cost of Tk 2.03 billion with the cost of each litre at Tk 104.48 per litre.
A similar quantity of soybean oil will be procured from Super Oil Refined Limited at Tk 2.04 billion with each litre cost at Tk 185.95 and some 5.5 million litres of soybean oils will be purchased from Shun Shing Edible Oil Ltd at a cost of Tk 1.01 billion with each litre's price at Tk 184.05.
The CCGP also approved some other procurement proposals, including the procurement of 130,000 metric tons of fertiliser, according to UNB.
Of these, the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) will import 50,000 MW of Muriate of Potash (MOP) fertiliser from the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) at a cost of Tk 3.45 billion with each metric tonne costing $655.03.
The Canadian Commercial Corporation will supply another 50,000 MT of MOP at the same price under a separate lot.
State-owned Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import 30,000 MT of bulk granular urea from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE at a cost of Tk 1.64 billion with each metric ton costing Tk $518.33.
The BCIC will also import 10,000 metric tonnes (MT) of phosphoric acid for its Chattagram TSP Complex Limited from Guizhou Chanhen Chemical Corporation, China (local agent Best Eastern, Dhaka) at a cost of Tk 730 million.
The CCGP approved a number of proposals from the Housing and Public Works Ministry to raise the cost of civil works under its “Construction of Elevated Expressway from Lalkhan Bazar in Chittagong City to Shah-Amanat Airport” project.
Under the proposals, the cost of the civil construction works No-WD-1 will be increased by Tk 6.49 billion, while the cost of the civil works No-WD-1 of “Construction of road from Kalurghat Bridge to Chaktai Canal along the banks of Karnaphuli River” will get higher by Tk 2.30 billion.
The CCGP approved a proposal of the Roads and Highways Department to award a Tk 10.85 billion contract to a joint venture of (1) CHSIETC, China; (2) SLGC, China and (3) PDL, Bangladesh to implement the Construction of lot No. DS-06 of the WP-03 package of the “SASEC Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Development” project.
The committee also approved three proposals for the extension costs of the three segments of a project under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).
As per the approvals, the cost of the work of the No-WP-10 package of the “Sasec Road Link Project-2: Upgradation of Elenga-Hatikamrul-Rangpur highway to 4-lane” will be increased by Tk 2.11 billion while the cost of the work No - WP-11 package of the same project will be increased by Tk 1.48 billion and cost of the works No-WP-12 package will be enhanced by 1.43 billion.