Govt to procure 50,000 MTs wheat, 70,000 MTs fertilizer, 1.10cr liter soybean oil

The government today approved separate proposals for procuring some 50,000 metric tons of wheat, 70,000 metric tons of fertilizer, 1.10 crore liters of soybean oil and 8,000 metric tons of lentil to meet the growing demand of the country.

The approvals came from the 4th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) this year held today at the Cabinet Division with Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Division additional secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan said that a total of 12 proposals were approved today.

He said following a proposal from the Ministry of Food, the government would procure some 50,000 metric tons of wheat under package-8 under international open tender method for the current fiscal year (FY24) with around Taka 166.75 crore where per ton wheat would cost $303.19 against the previous price of $315.29.

Mahbub said following a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) would procure some 40,000 metric tons of DAP fertilizer from MA’ADEN, Saudi Arabia with around Taka 253.44 crore with per ton fertilizer costing $576 against the previous price of $579.

Following two separate proposals from the Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) would procure some 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertilizer from under the 14th lot from KAFCO, Bangladesh for the current fiscal year with around Taka 122.55 crore where per ton fertilizer would cost $371.375 while the BCIC would procure another consignment of 10,000 metric tons of phosphoric acid from M/S Best Eastern, Dhaka with around Taka 62.92 crore.

Mahbub said following two separate proposals from the Ministry of Commerce, the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) would procure 1.10 crore liters of soybean oil under local Open Tender Method (OTM) from City Edible Oil Limited with around Taka 174.66 crore where per liter oil would cost Taka 158.79 while the TCB would procure 8,000 metric tons of lentil from Nabil Naba Food Ltd with around Taka 83.12 crore where per kg lentil would cost Taka 103.99.

Mahbub said the day’s CCGP meeting approved a proposal from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under which the government would procure LNG from Summit Oil and Shipping Company Ltd for a 15-year period starting from 2026 while the draft LNG SPA in this regard was also approved.

He informed that the day’s meeting okayed a proposal from the Power Division for setting up a 50MW (AC) solar power plant at Beel Sulongi under Netrakona Sadar upazila under ‘No Electricity No Payment’ method for a 20-year period by a joint venture where the power tariff would be Taka 10 for per kilowatt hour electricity.

The Cabinet Division additional secretary said in response to a proposal from the Health Services Division, the government would procure medicines from the Essential Drugs Company Ltd under Direct Procurement Method (DPM) for the current fiscal year under the Community Based Health Care (CBHC) operational plan for supplying those in countrywide 14,250 community clinics.

Besides, the CCGP meeting approved separate proposals from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, Secondary and Higher Education Division and the Local Government Division.

Prior to the CCGP meeting, the 3rd meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) this year was held today with Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in the chair.

The meeting gave approval in principle to a proposal from the Local Government Division under which pesticides would be procured under Direct Procurement Method (DPM) for Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) to keep the mosquito killing mission uninterrupted.

The CCEA meeting also gave approval in principle to a proposal from the Ministry of Water Resources. (BSS)