The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has expressed discontent over the poor performance in implementing a project for setting up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal despite its being a fast-track one.
Talking to the FE on Friday, a high official at the PMO disclosed that the office expressed the dismay, as opinions of stakeholders for finalising the Terminal Use Agreement (TUA) before establishing the country's first Floating Storage and Re-gasification Unit (FSRU) were not sent to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) within December, last.
Earlier, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division had asked 14 ministries and divisions concerned to submit their opinions by December last on the TUA and Implementation Agreement (IA) for establishing the FSRU. But, most of them could not send their opinions by the deadline. As a result, it was not possible to send the TUA to the CCEA for finalisation, he said.
He, however, said procedural work on implementation of the project was not being done at the expected level. For this, the PMO in its 7th fast track project monitoring task-force meeting strictly asked the ministry concerned to take necessary procedural steps with a view to executing the LNG project soon, he mentioned.
The government has taken up eight mega projects under its fast-track programme. These are monitored by a committee, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In 2010, Petrobangla invited pre-qualification tender on terminal development to find suitable investors.
The state-run petroleum corporation in August 2015 signed a term-sheet with Singapore-based Excelerate Energy Limited Partnership on the LNG terminal-use. The company will operate the terminal on the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis for 15 years.
According to the agreement, Petrobangla will pay US$0.474 per mmbtu for FSRU and will receive LNG within the range of 500 mmcfd and 600 mmcfd.
"A final contract with Singapore-based Excelerate Energy Limited is likely to be signed before placing it to the CCEA," Deputy Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Zanendra Nath Sarker told the FE.
He expressed hope that the establishment of the terminal would be completed by June 2017. He, however, said the pipe-line connectivity of the LNG terminal is already under implementation.
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