Import of 0.15m tonnes of fuel oil from Maldives approved

The Advisers' Committee on Public Purchase approved Tuesday import of 150,000 tonnes of petroleum fuels from a company of the Maldives at a cost of US$183.44 million, reports UNB. brOf the total imports, 90,000 tonnes are diesel, 30,000 tonnes jet fuel and another 30,000 tonnes octane.brThe Male-based state-owned Maldives National Oil Company Ltd (MNOC) will supply the bulk fuels from its Singapore-based refinery. The premium for the import has been fixed at $5.19 per barrel for diesel, $5.60 for jet fuel and $7.50 for octane.brLocal Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Adviser Anwarul Iqbal, who presided over the meeting of the committee, known as Cabinet Purchase Committee, told reporters that the Maldivian company's premium offer was found the lowest although they were not a petroleum-rich country.brWe've chosen the Maldives as an alternative country for outsourcing petroleum as the conventional exporting countries were doing monopoly, he said.brThe committee approved another proposal for the import of 20,000 tonnes of non-urea (MOP) fertiliser from Russia at a cost of Tk 1598.1 million. brBangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will make the fertiliser import at the rate of $1151 per ton. brMr Anwarul Iqbal said the government went for the bulk import of fertiliser to meet emergency needs in the coming winter-crop cultivation.brHe said at present, the country had a stock of 15,000 tonnes of MOP fertilisers.brThe meeting also approved a proposal of the housing and works ministry for earth-filling works under Purbachal Model Town project at a cost of Tk 161.7 million.br