Staff Correspondent

The government today approved separate proposals for procuring some 90,000 metric tons of fertilizer and 1.10 crore liters of soybean oil to meet the growing demand of the country for such items.

The government also gave nod to two separate proposals for fixing the power tariff for two power plants.

The approvals came from the 39th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) this year held today virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting virtually, Cabinet Division additional secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan informed that the day's meeting approved seven proposals out of nine proposals as two proposals from the Local Government Division and the Ministry of Shipping were withdrawn.

He said following a proposal from the Ministry of Commerce, the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) would procure some 1.10 crore liters of soybean oil from Green Nation Builders & Developers, India with around Taka 143.19 crore where per liter oil would cost Taka 154.67.

Mahbub said that following a proposal from the Power Division, the meeting approved power tariff for the 11 MW waste-based power plant to be set up under Build Own and Operate (BOO) system at Brahmanbaria Pourashava.

For a period of 25 years, the government would have to provide around Taka 4,068 crore to the awarded company where the tariff for per kilowatt hour electricity would be Taka 21.105.

The day's meeting also approved a power division proposal for okaying the power tariff for 100MW AC solar-based power plant at Sonagazi upazila under Feni district.

The government will have to provide around Taka 3,566.40 crore to the awarded company for a 20-year period where the tariff for per kilowatt hour electricity would be Taka 11.0058.

The Cabinet Division additional secretary said following three separate proposals from the Ministry of Industries, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) would procure 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertilizer from Muntajat, Qatar, under state-level agreement under the 6th lot with around Taka 127.82 crore.

The BCIC would procure another consignment of 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertilizer from KAFCO, Bangladesh under the 9th lot with around Taka 121.08 crore while the BCIC would procure another consignment of 30,000 metric tons of bulk granular urea fertilizer under the 6th lot from SABIC Agri Nutrients Company, Saudi Arabia with around Taka 123.49 crore.

Besides, Mahbub said that the day's CCGP meeting approved another proposal from the Road Transport and Highways Division under which the package number WP-02 of the project titled "Upgrading Aricha (Boraingail)-Gheor-Doulatpur-Nagarpur-Tangail regional highway into due standard and width" has been awarded to National Development Engineers Ltd with around Taka 112.82 crore.

Prior to the CCGP meeting, the 28th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was held today with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.

The meeting approved a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture under which the import agreement of non-urea fertilizer from six countries namely Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Canada, Russia and Belarus would be maintained.

Side by side, the government would procure non-urea fertilizer (TSP, DAP, MoP) from three more countries like China, Malaysia and Jordan.