2nd ERL unit work to start soon

CHATTOGRAM, June 09: The construction work to set up the second unit of the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) is likely to be started very soon as the government has already allocated the fund for the project.
ERL Managing Director Engineer Md Lokman told The Financial Express, "The government has allocated 70% of the total fund as loan. However, the rest of the 30% will be allocated by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC)."
He also said, "The finance ministry has recently allocated the fund for the project. We have already sent the final Detailed Project Proposal (DPP) to the cabinet committee. The cabinet committee will finally recast the DPP after reviewing it with the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC). The work for setting up the second unit of ERL is likely to be started very soon."
Engineer Md Lokman further said, "We have finalised the Front End Engineering Design of the second unit of ERL under Euro 5 standard. We are waiting for the approval of the DPP and calling tender of the project."

Sources said the estimated cost of the project is around Tk 237 billion. The finance ministry has allocated Tk 165.9 billion for the project as a loan to BPC. Besides, the remaining Tk 71.1 billion has been given from BPC's own fund. The project will end in June, 2027. However, BPC will have to repay the loan with an interest rate of 5 per cent in 20 years.
Sources said the design and layout plan of the second unit of the ERL have been completed. The responsible company Tecnip of France has submitted the design and layout plan to the ERL authority. ERL has sent the DPP, prepared as per the design of Tecnip of France, to the ministry.
According to the sources, ERL, the sole country-owned oil refinery, is going to set up its second unit with a capacity of refining around 3.0 million MT of crude oil annually. BPC is negotiating with a Chinese state-owned firm, Wuhan Engineering Company Ltd, to implement the project.
Sources also said that the present crude oil processing capacity of ERL is 1.5 million MT per year. In contrast, the current demand for petroleum products is nearly 6.5 million MT per year. The 'Unit-2 Project of ERL' will have a capacity of processing 3.0 million MT of crude oil per year. After the completion of the Unit-2 Project work of ERL, there will be equilibrium between the demand and supply of petroleum products in the country. It will also ensure more energy security in the country.
A total of 30 acres of land near the ERL have been acquired for the expansion of the prevailing refinery.
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