The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday approved six proposals, including a proposal to import 50,000 tons of rice.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting.
Rice import has been dominating as a regular agenda in the purchase body meeting since the beginning of 2021.
Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Sahida Akter, while briefing on the purchase committee meeting outcomes, said that the Directorate General of Food under the Food Ministry will import the 50,000 tons of non-basmati parboiled rice from Bagadiya Brothers Private Ltd of India at a cost of Tk176.38 crore.
Each ton of rice will cost US $416, Sahida added.
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The committee approved a proposal of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division to import 100,000 tons of crude oil from PT Bumi Siak Pusaku (BSP) Zapin of Indonesia under a government-to-government contract at a cost of Tk431.14 crore for the Bashundhara Bitumen/Asphalt production plant in Keraniganj.
Regarding the proposal, BPC Director (operation and planning) Syed Mehedi Hasan said the state-owned petroleum body will import the proposed crude oil for the private bitumen plant under a contract with the Bashundhara Oil and Gas Company Ltd.
A proposal from Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) under the Industries Ministry received the nod of the cabinet committee to purchase 30,000 tons of bagged granular urea fertilizer from Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company (Kafco) at a cost of Tk90.59 crore.
The cabinet body approved another proposal of the BCIC to import Reformed Gas Waste Heat Boiler and associated equipment from BORSIG Process Heat Exchange GmbH, Germany, at a cost of Tk56.65 crore through the direct procurement method.
The committee also approved a proposal from the Roads and Highways Department under the Road Transport and Highways Division to extend the contract of the Computer Network System Limited as service provider for six months up to September 30, 2021 for collecting tolls from Meghna Bridge and Gomti Bridge on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at cost of Tk35.57 crore.
A proposal from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) under the Ministry of Shipping was approved to purchase 10 bollard pull tug boats with spare parts, each having 12 tons of capacity, from Dockyard and Engineering Works at Tk166.97 crore through the direct purchase method.
