2 fuel pipelines built at cost of Tk 12,000cr remain idle 

CHATTOGRAM, Sept 22: Two pipelines constructed at a cost of taka 12,000 crore by the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) have remained unused for a long time despite completion of the construction.

The pipelines are; the 110-km long Single Point Mooring (SPM) system and the 250-km long Chattogram-Dhaka fuel pipeline.  Those two pipelines remain largely inoperative due to a combination of procrastination in appointing operators, accounting discrepancies and recurring technical faults.

 The SPM project in Maheshkhali constructed at a cost of taka 8,298 crore was designed to revolutionize fuel handling by unloading crude oil and diesel from deep-sea mother vessels directly to onshore facilities of Eastern Refinery limited in just hours instead of days.  Despite completing test commissioning in early 2024, the pipeline has sat idle because the BPC failed to appoint a commercial Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor. 

A revised and prolonged international tendering process has repeatedly delayed its commercial launch.

Meanwhile, the 18-month warranty period for fixing technical faults has expired without commercial use. Meanwhile, loan repayments have begun. BPC has already repaid over Tk 3,000 crore on the project loan, resulting in an estimated Tk 1,000 crore to Tk 1,200 crore in lost potential savings.

Besides, the 250-km Chattogram-Dhaka Pipeline constructed at a cost of taka 3,699 crore, stretching from Patenga to Narayanganj/Dhaka, was built by the Bangladesh Army to transport diesel efficiently, reduce transport times from 48 to 12 hours, and eliminate river-route pilferage.

The pipeline was officially inaugurated in August 2025. However, operations were suspended shortly after due to major technical glitches and accounting discrepancies.