For the first time in the country, the government has given the approval to set up a 42.5MW power plant to generate electricity burning waste.
The power project will be implemented under a tripartite agreement where Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) will supply a certain quantity of solid municipal waste and lands. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) will set up the plant on a build-own-operate basis.
The Chinese firm was selected as the sponsor under an unsolicited process, which will set up the plant at Amin Bazar on incineration-based technology.
The place is now being used by DNCC as a dumping station for its municipal waste.
Heat generated from burning the solid waste will be used to produce power, officials said, adding that such projects are already available in China and many other Asian countries.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity for a 25-year period at $21.78 cents (equivalent to Taka 18.295) per unit which means the government has to spend Taka 15,325.43 crore to buy electricity from the project over a period of 25 years.
A similar project is now being implemented in Narayanganj in collaboration with the Narayanganj City Corporation, which will generate 6MW.
The procurement proposal was approved at the 30th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement, chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday (November 12th).
Moreover, after the meeting, Additional Secretary to the Cabinet Abu Saleh Mustafa Kamal told reporters that the meeting approved all 8 procurement proposals that were placed for approval.
Among them, there were 5 proposals from the Ministry of Industry, 1 from the Ministry of Agriculture, 1 from the Division of Power and 1 from the Division of Road Transport and Highways.
In the 8 proposals approved by the procurement committee, the total amount is Taka 16,271.48 crore. Out of the total financing, Taka 1,5,628.26 crore will be spent from the government and Taka 643.27 crore will be borrowed from domestic banks.
A proposal of Roads and Highways Department received the Cabinet body nod for awarding the contract to Wahida Construction Ltd for constructing 1km bridge on Bhairab River in Khulna at Dighalia-Arua-Gazirhat-Terkhada road at a cost of Taka 302.78 crore.
Fertiliser import gets nod
Five proposals from the Industries Ministry to import fertiliser received a nod from the Cabinet body.
As per the proposals, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, under the Industries Ministry, will import 75,000 metric tonnes of urea fertilisers in three lots of the same quantity from Saudi Arabia's Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).
Each metric ton of urea will cost $264 and the total import cost will be about Tk 168.201 crore.
The BCIC will also import another 50,000MT bagged granular urea through an international quotation from Singapore Overseas Enterprise in two separate lots in equal quantity at a total cost of Taka 133.7324 crore. Each metric ton of urea will cost between $300.7 and $314.85.
The cabinet committee also approved the import of 180,000MT of muriate of potash (MOP) fertiliser by Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporate (BADC) from Russian JSC Foreign Economic Association "Prodintorg" at a cost of Taka 341.37 crore.
In another meeting, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a proposal in principle to set up six rice mills in Faridpur, Barishal, Jhalakathi, Bhola, Naogaon and Sylhet under public-private partnership (PPP).
The project was titled "Construction of Composite Rice Mill(s) along with Drying and Storage facilities at different strategic locations across the country''.
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