CHATTOGRAM, May 13: Nearly three years after the commissioning of the offshore oil-handling jetty under the Single Point Mooring (SPM) project, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is planning to appoint an operator by November.
The jetty, a subsidiary project of the BPC, was commissioned in March 2024 for the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL).
According to the BPC, the Tk 8,222 crore floating jetty project was constructed through a 110-kilometre (km) network of offshore and onshore pipelines.
The first round of tenders, floated in November 2025, was eventually cancelled due to procedural flaws, halting the full operation of the jetty.
Later, a revised tender was issued in December of the same year with the assistance of UAE-based ILF Consulting Engineers. After the deadline was extended twice, bids were opened on 17 February.
Tk 8,222 crore floating jetty project was constructed through a 110-kilometre network of offshore and onshore pipelines
A total of 11 companies purchased tender documents, yet only three submitted bids: PT PertaminaTrans Conti-nental, China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company, and Hilong Marine Engineering (Hong Kong) Limited.
The technical and financial evaluations are currently underway.
ILF Consulting Engineers had prior working relationships with the construction contractor, raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest. The firm prepared the tender documents before receiving formal approval.
Later, the ministry requested a reduction in the consultancy fee, delaying the firm's official appointment. As a result, the bid evaluation process has progressed slowly.
In the first round of bidding, more than a dozen companies showed interest, but only two submitted bids. A joint venture between China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company and Bluewater was disqualified, while Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina quoted a price higher than the allocated budget.
The initial plan was to appoint the Chinese firm under a special provision of the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act.
However, the interim government scrapped that approach and opted for international tendering for the operation and maintenance of the jetty.
According to BPC sources, the project will allow oil tankers to directly unload liquid fuel into onshore storage facilities, reducing both unloading time and transportation costs by eliminating the need for lighter vessels.
The SPM is located about 16km offshore from Matarbari Island. It is connected through two pipelines that transport crude oil from large mother tankers to a storage terminal in Moheshkhali and then onward to the ERL facility in Chattogram.
Once operational, the SPM will provide Bangladesh with an additional storage capacity of 200,000 tonnes, enough to meet nearly 10 days of the country's fuel oil demand, according to BPC estimates.
The pipeline system will reduce unloading time for deep-sea vessels from 11 days to just 48 hours and save around Tk 800 crore annually by replacing costly lighterage operations.
Authorities floated two rounds of open international tenders but failed to select an operating firm. Meanwhile, loan repayments have already begun, adding financial pressure to an asset that has yet to generate returns.
The project was approved in 2015 with an estimated cost of Tk 4,936 crore and a completion deadline of December 2018. However, the loan agreement became effective only in 2018.
Over time, the deadline was extended four times, adding more than five years to the schedule, while the project cost increased by 67 per cent to Tk 8,222 crore.
What was initially planned as a three-year project ultimately took nine years to complete.
Even after commissioning, delays continued in appointing an operator. Initially, there was a policy decision to appoint the Chinese contractor under a special legal provision.
However, after the fall of the Awami League government, the interim administration repealed the controversial law.
In November 2024, a government advisory committee approved in principle the direct appointment of the same Chinese firm through a government-to-government arrangement.
Following criticism, however, that decision was reversed in January 2025, and authorities returned to the open tender process.
Under the project, six storage tanks with a total capacity of 200,000 tonnes - three for crude oil and three for refined oil - have been constructed.
