The government has renewed efforts to appoint a contractor for the operation and maintenance (O&M) and marine services of Bangladesh's first single-point mooring (SPM) for a five-year period.
The Tk 80-billion facility, a flagship energy infrastructure project that has remained idle despite being completed more than a year ago, is seen as critical to reducing fuel import costs and improving energy logistics.
State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has floated an international tender for the second time after scrapping an earlier bid over pricing concerns.
The deadline for bid submission has been set for February 1.
Officials say the prolonged delay in operationalising the SPM is forcing the country to incur additional costs by continuing to rely on lighter vessels to transport fuel from offshore tankers.
During the previous tender process, the Indonesian firm PT Pertamina quoted US$117 million, about 33 per cent higher than BPC's estimated budget of US$88 million, leading to the cancellation of the tender, a senior BPC official told The Financial Express on Tuesday.
The SPM facility has remained idle for around one and a half years. As a result, BPC is incurring additional costs by continuing to use lighter vessels to transport fuel from mother vessels to onshore storage tanks, the official said.
The SPM, along with its double-pipeline infrastructure, was constructed by Chinese firm China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd (CPPEC), which handed over the project to BPC in August 2024.
The SPM system allows petroleum to be transferred directly from vessels anchored offshore to onshore storage tanks, significantly reducing both the time and cost involved in fuel imports.
Sources said CPPEC was selected as the contractor through an unsolicited proposal under the now-repealed Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010.
The project cost escalated by around 60 per cent to Tk 80 billion from the initial estimate of Tk 50 billion.
The project was implemented with Chinese concessional loans amounting to about US$554 million. Of this, around US$467.84 million was provided as preferential buyers' credit, while the remaining US$82.5 million was extended as a soft loan.
Industry insiders alleged that delays in making the SPM operational are benefiting private operators, who continue to earn substantial profits at the expense of public funds.
They further claimed that vested interest groups, allegedly working in collusion with private-sector beneficiaries, are playing a role in delaying the commissioning of the SPM and its associated fuel pipelines and infrastructure.
azizjst@yahoo.com
