Govt clears major proposals on soybean oil, LNG imports and infrastructure projects

 
The government has approved 10 proposals, including the import of 20 million litres of refined soybean oil from the international market and three LNG cargoes, in a fresh round of major state spending.

The approvals came at the 20th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase held at the Secretariat on Thursday, led by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The meeting discussed 11 proposals, while one of those from the Power Division was later withdrawn, according to bdnews24.com. 

Among the approved measures, the commerce ministry received clearance under the open tender method to purchase 20 million litres of refined soybean oil from Indonesia's PT Trinity Cahya Energy.

The deal will cost Tk 2.83 billion, with each litre priced at Tk 141.28.

The committee also approved the purchase of three spot-market LNG cargoes under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.

The 20th, 21st and 22nd LNG cargoes for June delivery will be sourced from Vitol Asia, BP Singapore and Gunvor Singapore at a combined cost of Tk 21.86 billion.

Under the Power Division, proposals were cleared to install new substations and carry out land development work in three lots to modernise electricity distribution systems in Dhaka and Mymensingh divisions.

The projects will be implemented by Consortium of EEL and FHL, and Reverie Power and Automation Engineering Ltd, involving nearly Tk 2.86 billion in total spending.

The committee also approved revised levelised tariffs for electricity purchases from the Sirajganj 225MW and Bheramara 410MW combined-cycle power plants operated by North West Power Generation Company Ltd.

Gas-based power tariffs were fixed at Tk 4.65 per unit, while diesel-based rates were set at Tk 20.63 for Sirajganj and Tk 20.69 for Bheramara.

Other approvals included:
Tk 1.09 billion for a 12-storey office building at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar;
Tk 1.22 billion for RAB vehicles from Pragoti Industries;
Tk 2 billion in revised land development costs for Jagannath University's new campus.